Amazon’s efforts to profit from its Alexa-enabled devices have reportedly resulted in significant losses for the company, amounting to over $25 billion between 2017 and 2021. According to the Wall Street Journal, citing internal documents and sources familiar with the situation, many customers primarily use Echo speakers for basic tasks like setting alarms rather than for shopping.
A former senior employee expressed concerns about the company’s investment in the technology, stating, “We worried we’ve hired 10,000 people and we’ve built a smart timer.”
In response to these challenges, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is reportedly exploring a paid version of the Alexa voice assistant. However, some engineers involved in the project have doubts about its potential impact on revenue.
An Amazon spokesperson emphasized the company’s commitment to creating value through its services, stating that the Devices & Services organization has successfully established various profitable ventures and is positioned for future growth.
In addition, the new AI-powered version of Alexa demonstrated in September is said to be far from being ready, as former employees indicated that Amazon lacks sufficient data and the necessary hardware to support the advanced technology. Furthermore, it appears the company has shifted focus towards developing generative AI for its cloud services division, Amazon Web Services.
In response to these claims, Amazon refuted the statements of former employees and asserted that its Artificial General Intelligence team has access to both proprietary Trainium chips and Nvidia GPUs. The company reiterated its goal to develop the “world’s best personal assistant” with Alexa.