Amazon acquires Bee, the AI wearable that records everything you say

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

Bee, which raised $7 million last year, makes both a standalone Fitbit-like bracelet (which retails for $49.99, plus a $19-per-month subscription) and an Apple Watch app. The product records everything it hears — unless the user manually mutes it — with the goal of listening to conversations to create reminders and to-do lists for the user.

Zollo told TechCrunch last year that the company hopes to create a “cloud phone,” or a mirror of your phone that gives the personal Bee device access to the user’s accounts and notifications, making it possible to get reminders about events or send messages.

“We believe everyone should have access to a personal, ambient intelligence that feels less like a tool and more like a trusted companion. One that helps you reflect, remember, and move through the world more freely,” Bee claims on its website.

Other companies like Rabbit and Humane AI have tried to make AI-enabled wearables like this, but have not found much success thus far. But at a $50 price point, Bee’s devices are more cost-accessible to a curious consumer who doesn’t want to make a big financial commitment. (The ill-fated Humane AI Pin was $499.)

An Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch that Bee employees received offers to join Amazon.

This acquisition signals Amazon’s interest in developing wearable AI devices, a different avenue from its voice-controlled home assistant products like its line of Echo speakers. ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working on its own AI hardware, while Meta is integrating its AI into its smart glasses. Apple is rumored to be working on AI-powered smart glasses as well.

These products come with a number of security and privacy risks, given that they record everything around them; different companies’ policies will vary in terms of how voice recordings are processed, stored, and used for AI training.

In its current privacy policies, Bee says that users can delete their data at any time, and that audio recordings are not saved, stored, or used for AI training. The app does store data that the AI learns about the user, however, which is how it can function as an assistant.

Bee previously indicated that it planned to only record the voices of people who have verbally consented. Bee also says it’s working on a feature to allow users to define boundaries — both based on topic and location — that will automatically pause the device’s learning. The company also noted that it plans to build on-device AI processing, which generally poses less of a privacy risk than processing data in the cloud.

It’s not clear if these policies will change as Bee is integrated into Amazon, however — and Amazon has a mixed record on the handling of user data from its customers’ devices.

In the past, Amazon shared footage with law enforcement from people’s personal Ring security cameras, with neither the owner’s consent, nor a warrant. Ring also settled claims in 2023 brought by the Federal Trade Commission that employees and contractors had broad and unrestricted access to customers’ videos.