Amazon Says Sales of Alexa-Enabled Devices Have Surpassed Half a Billion

Amazon (NYSE: AMZN) said that sales of Alexa-enabled devices have now surpassed half a billion and announced four all-new Echo devices.

Notably, amid the mass layoffs – which total 27,000 after two rounds – markets were concerned that Amazon is cutting down on its Alexa business which is posting losses.

However, speaking with TechCrunch, SVP of Alexa Rohit Prasad said that only a few Alexa employees were laid off.

He stressed that Amazon is bullish on Alexa and said “In terms of our roadmap and our conviction, Alexa is one of the biggest investments at Amazon and our conviction has only grown — especially in this time of how exciting AI is and what can be a quantitatively different, better, and more useful Alexa for our customers.”

Meanwhile, Amazon also announced four new Echo products which are the all-new Echo Pop, Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 5 Kids, and all-new Echo Buds.

In his prepared remarks, Prasad said that these devices would only get better as the company adds more generative AI experiences for Alexa over the course of the year.

Notably, like fellow tech companies, Amazon is also foraying into AI. It is reportedly looking to build a ChatGPT-like search interface – and is also hiring engineers for the same.

It is also using AI to optimize its deliveries and logistics, a move that would help it lower its costs.

Along with cost cuts, AI has been another common thread among tech companies. While companies are cutting costs elsewhere – their purse strings are wide open when it comes to AI.

• Read our guide on the best AI crypto projects

Coming back to Alexa, Prasad said that it is at the “forefront” of AI.

Amazon Launches Four New Echo Devices

Meanwhile, Amazon has refreshed its Echo portfolio with four new devices. It has launched Echo Pop priced at $39.99. The product is powered by the Amazon AZ2 Neural Edge processor and has eero built-in.

The Echo Show 5 is priced at $89.99 and the company said that the product is 20% faster than its previous version.

It added, that Echo Show 5 “features an entirely new speaker system, doubling the bass and delivering even clearer sound when listening to music, Audible, video content, or a podcast.”

Amazon also launched Echo Show 5 Kids which is directed at kids and would be available in Germany, the UK, and the US.

The product is priced at $99.99 – which makes it the costliest among all the new Echo devices. The device however comes with a one-year free subscription to Amazon Kids+.

Amazon also announced the all-new Echo Buds priced at $49.99 which would have a longer-lasting battery and improved clarity.

The company said, “Each earbud features a 12mm dynamic driver that delivers rich sound and balanced bass, as well as two microphones and a voice detection accelerometer to distinguish between the person speaking on a call versus others around.”

AMZN Has Stepped Up Its AI Game

Amazon has stepped up its AI game to take on other tech companies. AI has made waves globally as ChatGPT became the fastest-growing app and hit 100 million users within two months of its launch.

AMZN stock, which fell almost 50% in 2022 has rebounded in 2023 amid a broad-based rally in tech stocks – which has helped lift Nasdaq Composite almost 25% higher YTD.

• Read our guide on buying Amazon stock

That said, the company is still battling slowing growth at AWS – its cash flow engine. The sales growth of the e-commerce business is also down to single digits now.

By integrating generative AI capabilities to the e-commerce platform Amazon hopes to revive the sagging growth of the business.

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