AI
Amazon Establishes New R&D Lab for AI Agents Led by Adept Co-founder
2024-12-09
Amazon is making significant strides in the field of artificial intelligence by establishing a new R&D lab in San Francisco. This move is set to focus on building "foundational" capabilities for AI agents, marking a new era in the company's technological pursuits.
Unleashing the Potential of AI Agents with Amazon's New Lab
Building AI Agents for Real-World Actions
Amazon is establishing the Amazon AGI SF Lab, led by David Luan, the co-founder of AI startup Adept. This lab aims to build agents that can take actions in both the digital and physical worlds and handle complex workflows using various tools. "Our initial focus is on several key research bets that will enable AI agents to perform real-world actions, learn from human feedback, self-course-correct, and infer our goals," added Luan and Pieter Abbeel. The lab will be seeded by Adept employees, and Amazon is looking to hire a few "dozen" additional researchers in fields like quantitative finance, physics, and math.This is a crucial step in Amazon's journey towards more advanced AI capabilities. By focusing on real-world actions, the company hopes to create agents that can have a tangible impact on various aspects of our lives.Amazon's Quasi-Acquisition of Adept and Its Implications
In June, Adept, which is developing AI-powered agents, agreed to license its tech to Amazon, and Luan and portions of Adept's team joined the e-commerce giant. This quasi-acquisition resembles the deal Microsoft struck with AI company Inflection in May and has come under regulatory scrutiny. Adept was founded with the goal of creating an AI model that can perform actions on any software tool using natural language. Many others now share this vision, as evidenced by the growing interest in agentic AI. According to Emergen Research, "agentic" AI could be worth $31 billion by the end of the year. Eighty-two percent of organizations plan to integrate AI agents within three years, attracted by the possible efficiency boosts.This acquisition and the focus on agentic AI show Amazon's commitment to staying at the forefront of technological innovation and leveraging the power of AI to drive business growth and improve user experiences.Amazon's Existing and Future Ventures in the Agent Space
Amazon has dabbled in the agent space but has yet to make a serious play. In July, the company announced conversational agents for its Bedrock AI development platform, and just last week, it brought agents to its Amazon Q Business assistant platform for business customers and developers. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has hinted at a more agentic Alexa, one capable of not only responding to questions but taking actions.This indicates that Amazon is gradually expanding its presence in the agent space and exploring new ways to integrate AI agents into its existing products and services. By doing so, the company aims to provide more personalized and efficient experiences to its users.