# Anthropic Snaps Up Vercept Post-Meta Founder Hire
In a bold move to supercharge its Claude AI models, Anthropic has acquired Seattle-based startup Vercept, bringing in a team of vision AI experts including co-founders with roots at Meta. Announced on February 25, 2026, this acquisition targets advanced computer use capabilities, enabling Claude to interact with software like a human—navigating spreadsheets, filling web forms, and automating complex tasks without relying on APIs or scripts.[1][2][3]
Vercept's Cutting-Edge Tech and Team Joins Anthropic
Vercept specializes in AI perception and vision-driven computer automation, allowing AI to "see" and act within graphical interfaces, a critical challenge for building autonomous digital agents.[1][2][3] The nine-member team, led by co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick—a renowned vision AI expert previously at Meta and AI2—will integrate into Anthropic.[1][2][3][5] Vercept's external product, Vy—a Mac app for vision-based language control of computers—will wind down in the coming weeks.[1][2][3]
This talent acquisition follows Vercept's $16 million seed funding in June 2025, backed by investors like Fifty Years, Eric Schmidt, and Jeff Dean, highlighting its high-profile status in the AI startup scene.[1]
Boosting Claude's Computer Use: From 15% to Human-Level Performance
Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.6 already demonstrates massive leaps in computer use, scoring 72.5% on the OSWorld benchmark—up from under 15% in late 2024—nearing human-level proficiency on tasks like managing spreadsheets across browser tabs and multi-step workflows.[2][3][4] Vercept's expertise directly addresses "hard perception and interaction problems," enabling Claude to handle live applications in ways code alone cannot.[1][2][3]
As Anthropic states, this pushes frontiers in agentic AI, where models manage complex enterprise processes like invoice handling and form filling.[1][3]
Strategic Acquisitions Amid Fierce AI Competition
This is Anthropic's second buyout after Bun, part of a strategy to rapidly scale by acquiring specialized teams aligned with its safety-focused principles.[1][2][3][4] In a landscape dominated by OpenAI and Google DeepMind, such moves tackle talent shortages and accelerate AI automation advancements.[1] The news rippled through markets, with UiPath's stock dropping as investors eye AI's threat to traditional robotic process automation (RPA) tools.[1]
Market Implications for AI Automation and Investors
Vercept's vision tech differentiates from API-dependent tools, signaling a shift toward generation-oriented AI that uses computers as a core strength.[1] By consolidating top talent post-Meta affiliations, Anthropic positions Claude for enterprise dominance in AI agents.[1][5] Financial terms remain undisclosed, but the "early exit" for this Seattle standout underscores intensifying M&A activity in AI.[1][5][6]
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Vercept and what does it specialize in? Vercept is a Seattle-based AI startup focused on **vision-based perception** and computer automation, enabling AI to interact with graphical interfaces like humans do, without APIs or scripts.[1][2][3][5]
Who are Vercept's key founders joining Anthropic? Co-founders **Kiana Ehsani**, **Luca Weihs**, and **Ross Girshick**—a vision AI expert from Meta and AI2—along with the full nine-member team, are merging into Anthropic.[1][2][3]
How does this acquisition improve Claude AI? It enhances Claude's **computer use** for multi-step tasks in live apps, building on Sonnet 4.6's 72.5% OSWorld score for spreadsheets, web forms, and workflows.[2][3][4]
What happens to Vercept's products after the acquisition? Vercept will discontinue its external product, Vy—a Mac app for vision-controlled computing—in the coming weeks.[1][2][3]
Why is this significant for the AI industry? It's Anthropic's second acquisition (after Bun), accelerating **agentic AI** amid competition, with market impacts like UiPath's stock dip signaling shifts in automation.[1][2][3]
When was the acquisition announced? Anthropic revealed the deal on **February 25, 2026**, as part of its push for advanced AI capabilities.[1][2][3][6]
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 12:00:11 AM
**BREAKING: Anthropic Acquires Vercept AI Days After Meta Poaches Co-Founder.** Anthropic announced on February 25, 2026, its acquisition of Seattle-based Vercept, a nine-person team specializing in vision-driven computer automation, including co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick, who will join to boost Claude's abilities in tasks like navigating spreadsheets and filling web forms—its Sonnet 4.6 model now hits 72.5% on the OSWorld benchmark, up from under 15% in late 2024[1][3][4]. Vercept, which raised $50 million total including a $16 million seed led by Fifty Years wit
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 12:10:13 AM
**Breaking: Anthropic-Vercept Acquisition Sparks Expert Buzz on AI Agent Race**
Industry analysts hail Anthropic's acquisition of Vercept—fresh off Meta poaching co-founder Matt Deitke with a $250M package—as a "strategic talent grab" to supercharge Claude's computer-use edge, with Vercept's 9-person team (co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, Ross Girshick) integrating after raising $50M from backers like Eric Schmidt.[2][3] Anthropic emphasizes Vercept's thesis that "making AI genuinely useful for completing complex tasks requires solving hard perception and interaction problems," aligning with Claude Sonnet 4.6's leap to 72.5% on OS
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 12:20:19 AM
**NEWS UPDATE: Anthropic's Vercept Acquisition Sparks Global AI Automation Fears**
Anthropic's acquisition of Seattle-based Vercept, which raised $50 million including a $16 million seed round backed by Eric Schmidt and Jeff Dean, triggered an immediate 5-7% drop in UiPath's stock—a bellwether for robotic process automation (RPA) markets worldwide—signaling investor anxiety over AI agents disrupting $20+ billion in traditional enterprise software[2]. Internationally, the move bolsters Anthropic's edge against rivals like OpenAI and Google DeepMind, with Claude Sonnet 4.6 now hitting 72.5% on the OSWorld benchmark for human-like computer tasks such as spreadsheet navigation, potentially accelerating adoption
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 12:30:39 AM
**Breaking News Update: Anthropic's Vercept Acquisition Draws Expert Praise Amid AI Agent Race**
Industry analysts view Anthropic's acquisition of Seattle-based Vercept—whose nine-person team, including founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick, raised $50 million—as a strategic talent grab to supercharge Claude's computer-use capabilities, following Meta's poaching of co-founder Matt Deitke with a $250 million package[2][3]. Anthropic highlighted Vercept's expertise in solving "hard perception and interaction problems" for graphical interfaces, boosting Sonnet models from under 15% to 72.5% on the OSWorld benchmark[1][4]. Oren Etzioni noted a "return
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 12:40:39 AM
**Anthropic's acquisition of Vercept intensifies the AI agent arms race, bolstering Claude's computer-use capabilities against rivals like OpenAI and Google DeepMind.** The deal integrates Vercept's nine-person team—including co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and vision expert Ross Girshick—to advance multi-step tasks in live apps like spreadsheets and web forms, following Anthropic's December purchase of Bun's code engine[1][2][3][5]. Even as Meta poached co-founder Matt Deitke with a reported $250 million package for its Superintelligence Lab, the move triggered a stock drop for RPA giant UiPath, signaling investor fears over AI disrupting traditional automation markets[2][3][
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 12:50:19 AM
**NEWS UPDATE: Anthropic Snaps Up Vercept Post-Meta Founder Hire**
AI industry analysts view Anthropic's acquisition of Vercept—whose nine-member team, including co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick, raised $50 million—as a calculated talent grab to supercharge Claude's computer-use features amid fierce competition from OpenAI and Google DeepMind[1][2][4]. Oren Etzioni noted he secured a return on his investment, highlighting how Anthropic targeted Vercept's researchers even after Meta poached co-founder Matt Deitke with a $250 million package[1]. Experts emphasize this shift to "vision-driven" agents for multi-step tasks like form-filling signals
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 1:00:20 AM
**Anthropic snaps up Vercept post-Meta founder hire**
Anthropic acquired Seattle-based **Vercept**, an AI startup specializing in computer-use agents, on February 25, 2026, bringing on co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick alongside a nine-person team—even as Meta simultaneously poached one of the company's co-founders.[2][4] The acquisition marks Anthropic's second major talent grab following its December purchase of Bun's code engine, signaling intense competition among AI giants for specialized agentic AI expertise amid a global talent shortage.[1][3
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 1:10:32 AM
**Anthropic's acquisition of Vercept targets breakthroughs in vision-driven AI agents**, integrating the Seattle startup's nine-member team—including co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick—to enhance Claude's graphical interface perception and interaction, solving "hard perception and interaction problems" for autonomous tasks like spreadsheet navigation and web form filling[1][3][4][6]. Technically, this bolsters Claude Sonnet 4.6's OSWorld benchmark score from under 15% in late 2024 to 72.5% today, nearing human-level performance on multi-step workflows without APIs or scripts, following the Bun acquisition for agentic scaling[4][6]. Implications include accelerated competition in enterpris
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 1:20:10 AM
**BREAKING: Anthropic Acquires Vercept Amid Fierce AI Talent Wars**
Industry experts view Anthropic's acquisition of Seattle-based Vercept—bringing in its 9-person team including co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick—as a strategic masterstroke to supercharge Claude's computer-use agents, with Sonnet models surging from under 15% to **72.5%** on the OSWorld benchmark for tasks like spreadsheet navigation and web forms[1][5]. Vercept CEO Ehsani hailed the move on LinkedIn: “The choices were clear: we could build independently... or join forces with an incredible team and accelerate that vision into reality,” while analyst Oren Etzioni
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 1:30:11 AM
Anthropic announced Wednesday the acquisition of Vercept, a Seattle-based AI startup specializing in computer-use agents, even as Meta simultaneously hired one of the startup's co-founders—a striking example of fierce competition for talent in the agentic AI space[1][3]. The nine-member Vercept team, including co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick, will join Anthropic to enhance Claude's capabilities in automating complex tasks like spreadsheet navigation and web form completion, with the startup's external product Vy shutting down on March 25[1][2]. This marks Anthropic's second
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 1:40:11 AM
**BREAKING: Anthropic Acquires Vercept AI Amid Meta Talent Poach.** Anthropic announced on February 25, 2026, its acquisition of Seattle-based Vercept, integrating its nine-member team—including co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick—to boost Claude's computer-use features like navigating spreadsheets and web forms, with Vercept's Vy product shutting down by March 25[1][2][4]. The deal follows Meta poaching one Vercept co-founder and comes after Anthropic's December acquisition of Bun, with Vercept having raised $16 million in seed funding in June 2025 from investors like Eric Schmidt and Jeff Dean; Ehsani stated on LinkedIn,
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 1:50:11 AM
**BREAKING: Anthropic Acquires Vercept Amid Fierce AI Talent Wars**
Industry experts view Anthropic's acquisition of Seattle-based Vercept—bringing in co-founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick plus six others—as a strategic masterstroke to supercharge Claude's computer-use agents, with Sonnet models now hitting 72.5% on the OSWorld benchmark, up from under 15% in late 2024[1][5]. Vercept CEO Ehsani stated on LinkedIn, “The choices were clear: we could build independently... or join forces with an incredible team and accelerate that vision into reality,” highlighting the deal's appeal despite Meta poaching one co-founder[
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 2:00:37 AM
I cannot provide the requested news update because the search results do not contain information about a Meta founder hire at Anthropic or regulatory/government response to the Vercept acquisition. While the search results confirm that Anthropic acquired Vercept to enhance Claude's computer interaction capabilities[2], there is no mention of a Meta founder joining the company or any government regulatory response to this specific acquisition.
The search results do contain extensive coverage of a separate Pentagon dispute with Anthropic over its ethics policies, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth setting a Friday deadline for the company to abandon restrictions on military AI use[1][3], but this is unrelated to the Vercept acquisition or any Meta founder hire.
🔄 Updated: 2/26/2026, 2:10:13 AM
**NEWS UPDATE: Anthropic Snaps Up Vercept Post-Meta Founder Hire**
Industry experts view Anthropic's acquisition of Seattle-based Vercept—announced February 25, 2026, following Meta's poaching of one co-founder—as a critical talent grab in the fierce race for agentic AI supremacy, with Vercept's nine-person team, including founders Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and vision expert Ross Girshick, joining to supercharge Claude's computer-use features like spreadsheet navigation and web form handling[1][2][4]. Vercept CEO Ehsani stated on LinkedIn, “The choices were clear: we could build independently... or join forces with an incredible team and accelerate that vision into reality