Covariant

When Amazon acquihired Covariant in August 2024, only approximately 25% of employees (~40 of 160) were offered positions at Amazon. The remaining 75% of staff were left at a "zombie company" that one analyst predicted has "good luck doing that with the top 25% of your talent missing, including the key figures." The Emeryville headquarters was emptied within months, and remaining operations were moved overseas. Employees who stayed faced working for a company whose CEO estimated had a value between "zero" and "low double-digit millions."

In August 2024, Amazon hired Covariant's three co-founders (Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, Rocky Duan) and approximately 25% of its staff (~40 employees) in a $380 million "reverse acquihire" deal. Mass layoffs followed immediately, reducing the company from 160+ employees to approximately 20, mostly overseas. The Emeryville headquarters was emptied within months. A whistleblower filed complaints with the FTC, SEC, and DOJ in January 2025 alleging the deal was structured to evade antitrust scrutiny, characterizing Covariant as a "zombie company."

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