Amazon Acquires Key Talent From AI Startup Adept For Work Automation
Amazon brings on the co-founders and several employees from AI agent startup Adept to strengthen its AGI organization. The deal includes licensing Adept's multimodal models and datasets while the startup continues operating under new leadership.
Amazon hires the co-founders and several team members from AI startup Adept to lead its push into AI-powered work automation. CEO David Luan and co-founders Augustus Odena, Maxwell Nye, Erich Elsen, and Kelsey Szot join Amazon's AGI organization to continue developing useful general intelligence. This strategic move brings proven AI talent directly into Amazon's growing artificial intelligence division.
As part of the agreement, Amazon licenses Adept's advanced agent technology, state-of-the-art multimodal models, and select datasets. This technology transfer gives Amazon a significant boost in its efforts to build AI agents capable of performing complex tasks across software interfaces. The financial terms of the licensing deal remain undisclosed.
Adept continues to operate independently rather than shutting down completely, with head of engineering Zach Brock stepping up as the new CEO. The startup shifts its focus toward solutions that enable agentic AI, allowing it to pursue its original mission despite the departure of its founding team. This arrangement provides Adept with a lifeline to keep building while Amazon gains a competitive edge in the AI automation race.