Anthropic has acquired the AI startup Vercept, known for its innovative tools in the AI space, such as Vy, a cloud-based agent capable of operating a remote Apple MacBook. This acquisition follows Anthropic's earlier purchase of the coding agent engine Bun in December, aimed at enhancing Claude Code. The deal will lead to the discontinuation of Vercept's product by March 25.
Founded by former researchers from the Allen Institute for AI, Vercept is notable for its connections to Seattle’s tech industry. CEO Kiana Ehsani announced on LinkedIn that the startup raised a total of $50 million, with significant backing from investors including Seth Bannon of A12. Notable angel investors include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Google DeepMind’s Jeff Dean.
While Ehsani and co-founders Luca Weihs and Ross Girshick will join Anthropic, Oren Etzioni and Matt Deitke will not be part of the transition. Deitke, who previously negotiated a significant salary with Meta, expressed his support for his colleagues in a post on X, celebrating their new opportunity.