The AI industry was shaken up this week as Adept, a promising startup developing AI-powered “agents” for software tasks, announced a major deal with tech giant Amazon. In an unexpected turn of events, Adept has agreed to license its cutting-edge technology to Amazon, while several of its co-founders and key team members are set to join the e-commerce behemoth.
This development, first reported by Geekwire’s Taylor Soper, marks a significant shift in the AI landscape. Adept co-founder and CEO David Luan will be making the move to Amazon, along with fellow co-founders Augustus Odena, Maxwell Nye, Erich Elsen, and Kelsey Szot. They’ll be joined by an undisclosed number of other Adept employees, signaling a major talent acquisition for Amazon.
However, it’s important to note that this isn’t the end of Adept as we know it. The startup isn’t shutting down operations entirely. Instead, Zach Brock, who previously served as head of engineering, is stepping up to take the reins as CEO. Under his leadership, Adept plans to refocus its efforts on developing “solutions that enable agentic AI.”
In a blog post addressing the changes, Adept explained their rationale: “Continuing with Adept’s initial plan of building both useful general intelligence and an enterprise agent product would’ve required spending significant attention on fundraising for our foundation models, rather than bringing to life our agent vision.” This strategic pivot allows Adept to concentrate on its core strengths while leveraging its existing AI models, agentic data, web interaction software, and custom infrastructure.
For Amazon, this deal represents a significant boost to its AI ambitions. Geekwire reports that Luan will work under Rohit Prasad, the former Alexa head who’s now leading a new AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) team focused on building large language models. In an internal memo obtained by Geekwire, Prasad expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating, “David and his team’s expertise in training state-of-the-art multimodal foundational models and building real-world digital agents aligns with our vision to delight consumer and enterprise customers with practical AI solutions.”
The timing of this move is particularly interesting, given the current state of the AI agent market. Adept, founded just two years ago, had set out to create an AI model capable of performing actions on any software tool using natural language. This vision of an “AI teammate” trained to use various software tools and APIs had garnered significant attention and investment. The startup had raised over $415 million in capital, reaching a valuation of around $1 billion, with backers including tech giants like Nvidia, Atlassian, and Workday.
However, Adept’s journey hasn’t been without its challenges. The departure of two co-founders, Ashish Vaswani and Niki Parmar, early in the company’s life hinted at internal struggles. Despite months of testing, Adept has faced difficulties in bringing a product to market. These hurdles, combined with an increasingly competitive landscape in the AI agent space, likely contributed to the decision to partner with Amazon.
The AI agent market is indeed heating up, with well-funded startups like Orby and Emergence vying for dominance. Market research firm Grand View Research estimates that the AI agents segment was worth $4.2 billion in 2022, highlighting the immense potential in this field.
As we’ve seen with other recent AI talent acquisitions, such as Microsoft’s move to hire key personnel from Inflection earlier this year, these deals can significantly reshape the competitive landscape. It remains to be seen how regulators will respond to this trend, especially in light of growing scrutiny around AI development and deployment.
For Adept, the Amazon partnership could provide the resources and scale needed to bring its vision to fruition. On the flip side, there’s a risk that the startup could face a fate similar to Inflection, which saw much of its talent absorbed by a tech giant.
As the dust settles on this deal, the AI community will be watching closely to see how it impacts both Adept’s future and Amazon’s AI strategy. Will this collaboration accelerate the development of practical AI solutions for consumers and enterprises? Or will it lead to further consolidation in an already concentrated industry?
One thing is certain: the race to develop and deploy advanced AI agents is intensifying, and moves like this will continue to shape the future of technology. As we navigate this rapidly evolving landscape, it’s crucial to keep an eye on both the technological advancements and the broader implications for competition and innovation in the AI
