Amazon buys wearable AI device maker Bee for an undisclosed sum – News

Amazon.com Inc. is buying the wearable electronics startup Bee, officially known as Bluush Inc., for an undisclosed price, as part of a strategy to take the lead in more personal artificial intelligence services.

The acquisition, which has not yet closed, was announced by Bee co-founder and Chief Executive Maria de Lourdes Zollo on LinkedIn, who proclaimed that the company couldn’t have found a better partner to bring “truly personal agentic AI to even more customers.”

Bee, which launched earlier this year, is the developer of a smart bracelet device called the Bee Pioneer that’s somewhat similar to Fitbit. The device sells for $49.99 per month and users must also pay a monthly subscription fee of $19.99.

It acts like a very personal, wearable AI assistant that records all that the user says and everything else it hears, though it can be muted at any time. The idea is that, by listening, it gets to know users so it can create to-do lists, reminders and provide them with advice and tips.

The company closed on a $7 million seed funding round in July 2024. Zollo told News in an interview at the time that it intends to create a kind of “cloud mirror” of the users’ smartphones, with access to all of their social media and email accounts, so it can provide timely reminders and tips and send messages on their behalf.

According to Zollo, the startup wants to give everyone access to “personal, ambient intelligence” that feels like a “trusted companion,” helping them to navigate their world more easily.

Bee isn’t alone in sharing this ambition, but it appears to have had more success than rival AI wearable startups such as Humane AI Inc. and Rabbit Inc., thanks to the low-cost nature of its devices. Humane AI’s now-discontinued Pin, in contrast, was sold at a hefty price of $499, so it wasn’t surprising that it ultimately went out of business. Rabbit is still around, but its R1 device costs four times as much as Bee’s wristband at $199.

Privacy questions

Bee has always made a big deal about its privacy, conscious that consumers are likely to have a lot of concerns about a device that records everything they say and tracks where they go. Bee needs to store some information, of course, so it can do its job as a personal assistant, but in its privacy policy, it explains that it doesn’t save or store user’s audio recordings, and it doesn’t use them for AI training.

What it does do is save information that it learns about each user (like, a summary of what they talk about, the messages they receive and so on). But it notes that they can delete all of their data at any moment, should they choose to do so.

Bee has also said it’s planning to update its device so it only records the voices of those who have consented to it, but it does not appear to do this currently. In addition, it has said it’s working on a feature that will allow users to set guidelines on what the device can and cannot record, based on different topics and locations. So the device would automatically switch itself off if the user ventures into their bedroom, for example. The startup is also looking to build a more powerful device capable of processing AI data internally rather than sending it to the cloud to be processed, which is something that will increase privacy for users.

That said, it’s not clear if Bee will retain these policies and goals now that it’s set to be owned by Amazon.

For its part, Amazon said in a statement that it “cares deeply” about user privacy and security. A spokesperson for the company told WinBuzzer that it has been a “strong steward of customer data” ever since it was founded, and pointed out that it has never been in the business of selling personal information to third parties.

The spokesperson promised to work with Bee to give users “more control” over their devices. But it stopped short of saying it will adhere to its original policy of not storing audio data, so questions remain about how strong its privacy commitment really is.

Amazon has previously stirred up controversy regarding its policies for the Amazon Ring security cameras, after sharing footage they recorded with law enforcement agencies without the owner’s consent.

The next AI battleground

The acquisition is a strategic move for Amazon and suggests it’s a big believer in the idea that wearables will become the next big battleground for AI as it moves beyond the smartphone. It’s not the only technology giant that seems to think so either. Meta Platforms Inc. recently invested $3.5 billion in its smart glasses partner EssilorLuxottica SA, which has been working with a number of big name eyewear brands to popularize the concept of ambient intelligence.

Meta previously partnered with Bausch & Lomb Corp. to develop the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and has already sold millions of those devices, illustrating the consumer appetite for intelligent wearables. It’s now building on that with its new line of Oakley Meta sunglasses aimed at athletes.

OpenAI is also looking at wearable hardware as a foundation for AI, but it’s taking a different approach by acquiring io Products Inc., a somewhat secretive startup founded by former Apple Inc. Chief Design Officer Jony Ive. Prior to the acquisition, io was reported to be developing some kind of consumer AI device with no display, but it was never made clear exactly what form factor it would take.

OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman didn’t reveal much either, but instead articulated a vision of building “something beyond the legacy products we’ve been using for so long.”

Bee does not represent Amazon’s first foray into wearable devices. In previously built a line of wristband health trackers called Halo, which were similar to Fitbit, but failed to make much of an impact and ultimately were discontinued it in 2023. It also sells Echo-branded smart glasses powered by its AI assistant Alexa.

Photo: Bee