Amazon Building Team Focused on Creating ‘Entirely New Product Categories’

Amazon’s devices unit is reportedly building a new team that is focused on inventing “breakthrough” consumer products and creating “entirely new product categories.”

The ZeroOne team is led by Microsoft veteran J Allard, who helped create that company’s Xbox; has members in Seattle, San Francisco and Sunnyvale, California; and includes staffers who were previously with Amazon’s business units that developed Alexa voice assistant, Luna cloud gaming service and Halo sleep tracker, CNBC reported Thursday (May 29).

In job postings, Amazon has said that the team’s projects include a new smart home product, according to the report.

“You’ll be part of a team that embraces design thinking, rapid experimentation, and building to learn,” one job posting said, per the report. “If you’re excited about working in small, nimble teams to create entirely new product categories and thrive in the ambiguity of breakthrough innovation, we want to talk with you.”

An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that Allard is overseeing ZeroOne, but did not provide details on the group’s work, according to the report.

This report came about two weeks after Amazon cut about 100 jobs in its devices and services unit, saying it did so as part of a regular business review. That unit is responsible for the Kindle eReader, Echo smart home devices, Zoox robotaxi and Alexa.

An Amazon spokesperson told Reuters at the time: “As part of our ongoing work to make our teams and programs operate more efficiently, and to better align with our product roadmap, we’ve made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles.”

In February, Panos Panay, head of Amazon’s devices and services division, told CNN that the company is preparing to release a “constellation” of devices powered by artificial intelligence.

“You can imagine … a constellation of devices that has to come together to make it a better experience,” Panay said.

CNN reported that Panay didn’t say what devices might be included in that group. It added that Amazon has started to add AI to some of its devices, including Ring security cameras, Eero Wi-Fi routers and Echo smart speakers. The company also offers smart glasses, smart rings and fitness trackers.