Amazon today unveiled plans to acquire San Francisco-based wearable tech firm Bee, maker of a new generation of listening devices. Amazon’s latest move is a strong indication that Amazon is serious about improving the smarts behind its Alexa voice assistant. The assistant, most recently powered by an infusion of artificial intelligence from ChatGPT, The deal significantly enhances Amazon’s competitive position. Now, it has a much higher chance to go head-to-head with competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini.
Alexa, introduced more than a decade ago, has long been the bedrock of Amazon’s smart home strategy. Just in recent months, the company has announced dozens of AI products—too many to name. These range from Nova models, Trainium chips, and a shopping chatbot focused on improving the consumer experience. To that end, Amazon recently announced Bedrock, a new marketplace for third-party AI models. This strategic move deepens its production line segmentation, solidifying a more competitive AI market.
Bee’s CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo shared the news of the acquisition via a LinkedIn post, expressing excitement about the future of the company under Amazon’s umbrella. Zollo continued, “When we founded Bee, we dreamed of creating a future with AI that feels personal. Technology should deeply understand your life and evolve with you. Announcing this acquisition as a major milestone for Bee’s travels, she urged everyone to come and work together.
Bee is perhaps best known for its $49.99 wristband that looks like a Fitbit smartwatch from 2015, delivering users custom AI interactions on the go. The company is known for the Rabbit R1, a small square device that costs $199. It is powered by an OpenAI model which provides human-esque answers to users’ questions. All of these product announcements fit perfectly into Amazon’s larger trend toward making technology more available, easier to use, and more helpful.
Amazon’s recent acquisitions follow a string of other mega AI sector acquisitions. In May, OpenAI acquired Jony Ive’s AI device startup, io, for approximately $6.4 billion, highlighting the intensifying competition among tech giants to dominate the AI market. Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have been a commercial success since launching in late 2021. This trend is yet another marker in the rapid expansion of AI into our consumer devices.
As Amazon continues to innovate and expand its AI capabilities, Zollo remarked on the significance of joining Amazon: “What began as a dream with an incredible team and community now finds a new home at Amazon.” This acquisition significantly strengthens Amazon’s assets in this arena. It’s an indication of a big-picture trend in the tech industry—the push to put artificial intelligence directly into our personal devices.