When Amazon recruited the founding team of AI startup Adept last year, it set a precedent in the industry, becoming a typical example of the "reverse acquisition" model. This emerging transaction structure differs from traditional acquisitions, where large companies only hire core members of the startup's team and gain technology licensing, rather than acquiring the entire company.
David Lu, co-founder and former CEO of Adept, later led Amazon's new AGI laboratory. In a recent interview with The Verge, although the main topic was Amazon's vision for AI agents, journalist Alex Heath also asked for his perspective on the reverse acquisition trend.
Facing criticism, Lu candidly responded that he hoped to be "more remembered as an AI research innovator rather than a transaction structure innovator." However, he also defended this model, arguing that it is "completely rational" for companies like Amazon to quickly gather key resources in both talent and computing power.
As for why he chose to leave his own startup and join Amazon, Lu gave a thought-provoking answer. He admitted that he did not want to turn Adept into "a corporate enterprise that only sells small models," because his goal was more ambitious — to solve "four key research challenges on the path to AGI."
Lu further explained his core reason for choosing Amazon: "Each of these four challenges requires computing clusters worth hundreds of billions of dollars to support the research. Besides this, through what other means could I get such an opportunity?"
These words reveal the harsh reality of current AI development: breakthroughs in general artificial intelligence not only require top talent but also astronomical financial investment and computing power. For researchers with AGI aspirations, it is wiser to leverage the platform of tech giants to achieve greater ambitions, rather than struggle in resource-limited startup environments.
Lu's remarks also indirectly confirm the deeper logic behind the rise of the reverse acquisition model: in today's increasingly intense AI arms race, collaborative approaches that maintain innovation vitality while securing sufficient resources are becoming the new favorite in the industry. This model allows startup founders to continue pursuing their technical ideals without bearing the huge pressure of independent operations, achieving a win-win situation.
As more similar deals emerge, reverse acquisitions may redefine the talent flow landscape in the technology industry, becoming an important bridge connecting innovation and resources.
