Unpacking Amazon’s unique Covariant AI deal
Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss Amazon's acquisition of Covariant AI talent and 1X's NEO Beta humanoid, featuring insights from Brad Porter, CEO of Collaborative Robotics. Porter, a former Amazon robotics leader, explains that Amazon's move is primarily an acqui-hire to secure top ML talent for building robotic foundation models, rather than acquiring Covariant's existing technology. The hosts also review July's $1.3B in robotics funding, highlighting investments in Monarch Robotics, Seegrid, and Swiss Mile, while debating the viability of home deployment for humanoids like 1X's NEO Beta.