Amazon reportedly met with the creator of an Echo-like device in 2013 before launching its own now-dominant smart speaker 2 years later
Big companies like Amazon don't steal from little companies like Ubi; that wouldn't be ethical
Quote:
Amazon has reportedly met with multiple tech entrepreneurs over the years to apparently discuss acquisitions and investments only to turn around and create strikingly similar products of their own, per a Thursday Wall Street Journal report.
One of those entrepreneurs was Leor Grebler, who launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 and raised $36,000 for his voice-activated Ubi device. It landed on the market well ahead of Amazon Echo's mid-2015 debut.
Grebler told the outlet he began meeting with Amazon in late 2012 to discuss his technology, with the impression that Amazon may have wanted to acquire Ubi or at least license the tech. Shortly after in 2013, he conducted a demo of his device and disclosed proprietary information in a meeting with a group of Amazon execs, which included two who would later be found to be involved in the Echo speaker project, Grebler told the Journal.
"They saw all the things we wanted to do with the device [like] music and shopping," Grebler told the WSJ. "It was almost a road map for the product."
Prior to the demo, Amazon told Grebler it would be terminating its nondisclosure agreement, which both parties signed earlier on. Grebler told the outlet the move gave him the impression that Amazon was more seriously considering acquiring Ubi.
Amazon went radio silent following the meeting, and news later surfaced in late 2014 that Amazon was planning to unveil its Echo device, which later hit the market in June 2015. Grebler said he lacked the funds to take Amazon to court.
|