## Amazon AGI Labs Chief Defends His “Reverse Acquihire”
Dr. Elias Vance, head of Amazon AGI Labs, has staunchly defended the division’s unconventional “reverse acquihire” of emerging AI powerhouse “Synthetica Corp.” Vance addressed growing internal and external skepticism, asserting the strategy was a deliberate move to accelerate Amazon’s ambitious AGI goals.
Instead of subsuming Synthetica’s 75-person team into Amazon’s vast infrastructure, the deal saw a significant portion of Amazon AGI Labs’ core research and development personnel *relocate* to Synthetica’s independent, agile campus. Under this model, Synthetica’s founder, Dr. Anya Sharma, retained full operational control, with Amazon talent essentially embedding themselves within Synthetica’s established, high-velocity research culture.
Vance clarified, “We weren’t just buying their IP; we were investing in a proven methodology and a unique, highly cohesive team dynamic that has consistently delivered breakthroughs. Traditional integrations often stifle this. By embracing a ‘reverse acquihire,’ we’re leveraging Synthetica’s agility and innovative spirit, while injecting our resources and a focused contingent of our top talent directly into their workflow. This isn’t about Amazon absorbing them; it’s about building a faster, more effective AGI engine by co-opting their unique operational tempo.”
While acknowledging the strategy has raised eyebrows, Vance pointed to early, promising results from the newly integrated unit as justification, arguing that radical problems demand equally radical solutions in the race for true artificial general intelligence.