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- 📝 Amazon hires away more founders
📝 Amazon hires away more founders
Liam Gill
September 02, 2024
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News of the Day
Amazon announced that it has hired the founders of Covariant—Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, and Rocky Duan—along with about a quarter of the startup's employees. Additionally, Amazon secured a non-exclusive license to use Covariant's robotic foundation models. Covariant has been working on AI models specifically for robots, particularly focusing on tasks like bin picking in warehouses. Joseph Quinlivan, Amazon's VP of Fulfillment Technologies & Robotics, stated that integrating Covariant's AI technology into Amazon's existing robotic fleet would enhance performance and deliver tangible value to customers. This move is seen as part of Amazon's strategy to acquire talent and technology without fully acquiring companies, a method described by some as a "reverse acquihire" to avoid antitrust scrutiny. Covariant will continue operating independently under the leadership of new CEO Ted Stinson, with a focus on deploying its AI technology across various industries, including apparel, health and beauty, grocery, and pharmaceuticals.
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