Amazon has made a significant stride in the world of artificial intelligence by investing a staggering $8 billion into the AI startup Anthropic. This strategic move is central to Amazon's efforts to revitalize its Alexa devices, which have recently been upgraded and showcased at an event in New York this week. The latest iteration of Alexa is powered by Anthropic's Claude large language model, which has taken the helm in handling a majority of customer inquiries.
Amazon has long been regarded as a leader in natural language and machine learning. However, with the advent of generative AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Alexa had begun to lag behind its competitors. In response, Amazon has overhauled Alexa's capabilities, a transformation described by CEO Andy Jassy as "rearchitecting" the brain of Alexa.
The upgraded Alexa devices are powered by Amazon's Bedrock, an AI infrastructure that integrates Anthropic's Claude model. Notably, Claude not only enhances Alexa but also extends its utility to other facets of Amazon's operations, such as product search and advertising. During the New York event, Claude demonstrated its prowess by tackling more complex tasks, underscoring its integral role in Amazon's AI ecosystem.
Amazon's senior vice president of devices and services, Panos Panay, praised Anthropic as an "awesome" partner. He emphasized the company's pragmatic approach to selecting the most suitable AI model for various tasks.
"We pick the model that's right for the job," – Panos Panay
The collaboration with Anthropic marks a new era for Amazon's AI ambitions, with the Claude model becoming part of Amazon Web Services Bedrock offering. Additionally, a new service, "Alexa+," is set to launch in early access next month. This service will be available for $19.99 a month or free for Amazon Prime members, providing enhanced functionalities powered by AI.
Panos Panay lauded Anthropic's foundational model as "incredible," illustrating the significant impact it has had on Amazon's technological advancements. Beyond Alexa, Amazon continues to develop its own AI models, including the Nova series, which was rolled out late last year.