Amazon has officially announced on Friday evening the successful addition of Covariant’s founding trio – Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, and Rocky Duan – and a significant portion of the startup’s workforce, marking a notable talent acquisition in its pursuit of advanced robotics capabilities. Furthermore, Amazon has obtained a non-exclusive license for Covariant’s pioneering robotic foundation models.
Earlier in the year, Peter Chen shared with TechCrunch his vision for Covariant as developing a “large language model for robots,” focusing on creating AI-driven models specifically for robotic arms tasked with common warehouse operations such as bin picking.
“Bringing onboard some of the brightest minds in the field, we aim to push the boundaries of fundamental research, combining Amazon’s extensive experience with Covariant’s innovation to revolutionize how AI and robotics can enhance the work lives of our operational employees,” expressed Joseph Quinlivan, Amazon’s Vice President of Fulfillment Technologies & Robotics.
This acquisition mirrors Amazon’s June initiative of integrating AI startup Adept’s founders, granting Amazon access to emerging talents and technologies without the complete buyout of the companies involved.
A narrative described by The Verge as a “reverse acquihire” highlights how such hiring and licensing maneuvers allow tech giants to navigate around antitrust concerns, offering alternative methods to traditional acquisitions.
Under the continued leadership of Ted Stinson and Tianhao Zhang, with Stinson transitioning from COO to CEO, Covariant will persist in its mission to deploy the Covariant Brain across diverse industrial sectors worldwide, encompassing apparel, health and beauty, grocery, and pharmaceuticals.