- Amazon has incurred over $25 billion in losses from Alexa-powered gadgets between 2017 and 2021.
- This has prompted the company to develop a subscription-based new and improved Alexa with generative AI capabilities.
- However, people working on the project remain skeptical of its success, citing concerns about technology readiness and consumer willingness to pay for previously free features.
Amazon’s plan to launch inexpensive Alexa-powered gadgets as a way to secure long-term financial success seems to have backfired in a significant way. Having incurred losses of over $25 billion between 2017 and 2021 due to the tech, the leading retailer is now looking to launch a paid version of Alexa to mitigate its financial setbacks. However, will this new version of Alexa be enough to turn the tide for Amazon? Employees seem to think otherwise.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Amazon is racing to launch the paid subscription as soon as this month. But engineers working on the product worry that the updated version of Alexa won’t take off as expected. An employee revealed to the WSJ that “the technology isn’t there, but they have a deadline.”