Anthropic announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Vercept, an AI startup linked to notable figures in Seattle’s tech industry. This acquisition follows Anthropic’s procurement of coding agent engine Bun in December to boost Claude Code. Vercept developed advanced tools for agentic tasks, including Vy, a remote-operated cloud-based Apple Macbook agent. Following the deal, Vercept’s product will be discontinued on March 25.
Vercept emerged from Seattle’s AI-themed incubator, A12, tied to the Allen Institute for AI, where its founders previously worked. One co-founder, Matt Deitke, made headlines for negotiating a $250 million salary at Meta’s Superintelligence Lab. Deitke acknowledged his former colleagues’ achievements in a post on X on Wednesday.
Vercept, a prominent AI startup in the area, raised $50 million, with its lead investment from A12’s Seth Bannon. It had secured a $16 million seed round last January. The startup attracted high-profile angel investors like former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and others, as reported by Geekwire.
In Anthropic’s announcement, co-founders Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick were included as joining Anthropic, though not all co-founders are joining. Matt Deitke, another co-founder, made news for his substantial salary at Meta. He also congratulated his colleagues on X.
Oren Etzioni, previously named a Vercept co-founder and investor, is the founding leader of the Allen Institute for AI, and is not joining Anthropic, expressing dissatisfaction with the acquisition. He commented on LinkedIn regarding Vercept’s decision to close, wishing the team well with Anthropic.
Etzioni, a University of Washington professor and known startup founder, did not respond to comments. On LinkedIn, he blamed Bannon, Vercept’s lead investor, for business missteps. Bannon responded, defending the founders’ accomplishments while both accused each other of falsehoods and threats.
Despite investor disagreements, achieving success in AI remains paramount. With Anthropic acquiring Vercept, a startup with a significant funding pool now merges with Anthropic. While the deal terms remain undisclosed, Etzioni acknowledged a return on investment but expressed regret over the startup’s short-lived trajectory despite promising progress.
Ehsani, through LinkedIn, conveyed satisfaction with the decision to join Anthropic, emphasizing the alignment with Anthropic’s vision and the strategic advantage of collaboration to speed up realization.