Anthropic acquires computer-use AI startup Vercept after Meta poached one of its founders
Anthropic has acquired AI startup Vercept, which developed tools for complex agentic tasks, integrating some of its team.Summary
Anthropic announced the acquisition of Vercept, an AI startup specializing in tools for complex agentic tasks, including its computer-use agent product Vy, which operated a remote Apple Macbook. This follows Anthropic's earlier acquisition of Bun. Vercept, a graduate of the A12 incubator, had raised $50 million, with Seth Bannon of A12 as the lead investor. Several high-profile angel investors were involved, including Eric Schmidt and Jeff Dean. As part of the deal, Vercept's product will be shuttered on March 25. While co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick are joining Anthropic, co-founder Matt Deitke, who previously left for Meta's Superintelligence Lab, is not. Oren Etzioni, another co-founder and investor, expressed disappointment publicly despite receiving a return on his investment, leading to a public dispute with lead investor Seth Bannon regarding the startup's business direction.
(Source：TechCrunch)