Amazon confirmed it plans to acquire wearables startup Bee AI. This is yet another example of tech giants increasing their investment in generative artificial intelligence. San Francisco-based company Bee has launched a $49.99 wristband that looks like a Fitbit smartwatch. Equipped with artificial intelligence and a microphone, the device can listen and analyze conversations to provide summaries, to-do lists and reminders for daily tasks.
Bee CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo announced in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday that the company will join Amazon.
"When we founded Bee, we envisioned a world where AI is truly personal—a world where technology that understands and empowers your life learns and grows with you," Zolo wrote. "This dream, nurtured by an incredible team and community, has now found a new home at Amazon."
Amazon spokesperson Alexandra Miller confirmed the company's plans to acquire Bee but declined to comment on the terms of the deal.
Amazon has launched a series of artificial intelligence products, including its own Nova series of models, Trainium chips, shopping chatbots, and a third-party model marketplace called Bedrock.
In addition, Amazon has also comprehensively upgraded its Alexa voice assistant, which has been launched for more than ten years, to incorporate artificial intelligence capabilities. The move is aimed at cannibalizing the market share of rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini.
Amazon-owned smart home security company Ring also plans to introduce generative AI into some of its products.
Amazon has previously dabbled in wearables with a health and fitness product called Halo. In 2023, the company terminated the Halo project as part of a broader cost-cutting review.
Other technology companies have launched consumer hardware products incorporating artificial intelligence, but with mixed success.
For example, there's the Rabbit R1, a small, square $199 device that uses OpenAI models to answer questions; and there's the AI pin developed by Humane, a company later acquired by HP.
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have continued to grow in popularity since the first model was launched in 2021.
In May 2024, OpenAI acquired Jony Ive's artificial intelligence device startup io for about $6.4 billion. It is reported that the company plans to develop a screenless device.