Amazon Acquires Bee, The Ai Wearable That Records Everything You Say

Amazon has acquired nan AI wearables startup Bee, according to a LinkedIn post by Bee co-founder Maria de Loudres Zollo. Amazon confirmed nan acquisition to TechCrunch, but noted that nan woody has not yet closed.

Bee, which raised $7 cardinal last year, makes some a standalone Fitbit-like bracelet (which retails for $49.99, positive a $19-per-month subscription) and an Apple Watch app. The merchandise records everything it hears — unless nan personification manually mutes it — pinch nan extremity of listening to conversations to create reminders and to-do lists for nan user.

Zollo told TechCrunch past twelvemonth that nan institution hopes to create a “cloud phone,” aliases a reflector of your telephone that gives nan individual Bee instrumentality entree to nan user’s accounts and notifications, making it imaginable to get reminders astir events aliases nonstop messages.

“We judge everyone should person entree to a personal, ambient intelligence that feels little for illustration a instrumentality and much for illustration a trusted companion. One that helps you reflect, remember, and move done nan world much freely,” Bee claims connected its website.

Other companies for illustration Rabbit and Humane AI person tried to make AI-enabled wearables for illustration this, but person not recovered overmuch occurrence frankincense far. But astatine a $50 value point, Bee’s devices are much cost-accessible to a funny user who doesn’t want to make a large financial commitment. (The ill-fated Humane AI Pin was $499.)

An Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch that Bee labor received offers to subordinate Amazon.

This acquisition signals Amazon’s liking successful processing wearable AI devices, a different avenue from its voice-controlled location adjunct products for illustration its statement of Echo speakers. ChatGPT shaper OpenAI is moving connected its ain AI hardware, while Meta is integrating its AI into its smart glasses. Apple is rumored to beryllium moving connected AI-powered smart glasses arsenic well.

These products travel pinch a number of information and privateness risks, fixed that they grounds everything astir them; different companies’ policies will alteration successful position of really sound recordings are processed, stored, and utilized for AI training.

In its current privateness policies, Bee says that users tin delete their information astatine immoderate time, and that audio recordings are not saved, stored, aliases utilized for AI training. The app does shop information that nan AI learns astir nan user, however, which is really it tin usability arsenic an assistant.

Bee antecedently indicated that it planned to only grounds nan voices of group who person verbally consented. Bee besides says it’s working on a characteristic to let users to specify boundaries — some based connected taxable and location — that will automatically region nan device’s learning. The institution besides noted that it plans to build on-device AI processing, which mostly poses little of a privateness consequence than processing information successful nan cloud.

It’s not clear if these policies will alteration arsenic Bee is integrated into Amazon, nevertheless — and Amazon has a mixed grounds connected nan handling of personification information from its customers’ devices.

In nan past, Amazon shared footage pinch rule enforcement from people’s individual Ring information cameras, pinch neither nan owner’s consent, nor a warrant. Ring besides settled claims successful 2023 brought by nan Federal Trade Commission that labor and contractors had broad and unrestricted entree to customers’ videos.