The Amazon Alexa Fund was originally launched in 2015 to create momentum for voice and smart devices and show the art of what’s possible. Since its launch, the Alexa Fund has provided venture capital funding to fuel not only voice innovation, but also areas such as artificial intelligence, hardware, and entertainment.
We believe in supporting entrepreneurs who advance the state of the art and working with them to best leverage Amazon to innovate on behalf of customers.
The Alexa Fund strives to be at the forefront of technological advancement. Artificial intelligence and machine learning serve as the foundation for an increasing proportion of the most innovative consumer products and services. Amazon has developed AI-enabled products for customers for over a decade, and we believe that much of the AI innovation that will enhance what it means to be a consumer is in front of us.
While our investments span a wide range of sectors and stages, some core focus areas for us include:
Some of the most successful consumer products in the last few decades (e.g. mobile phone, personal computer, smart speakers) have been innovations at the intersection of hardware and services. We believe that we are at beginning of a cycle in which advances in computing will enable a new generation of devices and services that reduce friction and create superpowers that improve the lives of consumers.
The evolution of tools that democratize content creation, the emergence of synthetics, the accelerating shift towards immersion, and the influence of the first digital native generation is shaping preferences and trends that are changing the essence of entertainment. We believe the creation of all forms of media will flourish with the power of generative AI to the benefit of consumers and creators.
Read about the progress of the Alexa Fund portfolio companies.
Alexa Fund at CES
Check out Amazon Alexa Fund Portfolio Companies MultiOn, Embodied, Inc., Weel , TRIPP, Inc., and Rise Gardens showcasing innovations that are set up to make every day better.
Amazon Alexa Fund Backs Sunrise's Home Sleep Diagnostics
Sunrise’s approach to sleep monitoring centers around mandibular jaw movements. Much like the diaphragm supports breathing during sleep, the jaw also plays a key role. By focusing on these jaw movements, Sunrise delivers a high-precision tool for sleep diagnosis. And all it takes is an 8-gram sensor comfortably placed on the chin.
Imbue Raises Fresh Capital, Amazon Alexa Fund Joins Investor Lineup
The Alexa Fund has been exploring new approaches to cutting-edge AI systems for some time now and Imbue stood out with its focus on building smarter agents that can reason their way through problems like humans,” said Paul Bernard, director of the Alexa Fund. “We’re proud to be an investor of Imbue and fully support their mission to develop the next-generation of AI agent capabilities.”
Geopipe uses AI to create a digital twin of Earth
Planet Earth is getting a digital twin. A pair of friends who met during high school in an online forum are now using their PhDs in computer science to pioneer artificial intelligence (AI) techniques that will allow them to create an exact digital replica of the world — one that adds deep and rich layers of detail and nuance to the traditional online mapping experience.
Why a fast-growing climate tech startup raised its second Series B...
Picture this: Fast-growing startup raises a high eight-figure round. Then, a year later, it decides to raise another. Investors line up, and this time they pledge more money while giving the company a healthy valuation bump. Just a little over a year ago, Span announced that it had closed a $90 million Series B that valued the company at $410 million pre-money.
Hyper raises $3.6M from Amazon and more...
VTubers — online personalities who use motion-capture-powered manga- and anime-inspired avatars to interact with the world alongside games, over YouTube, and in other places — have become big business, with the most popular of them collectively racking up hundreds of millions of hours of viewership in a month, along with loyal fan bases.
Can you teach a computer to smell? Osmo is trying
At the age of 12, Alex Wiltschko bought his first perfume, Azzaro pour Homme. He’d read about it in his favorite book — Perfumes: The Guide, by Luca Turin — and was thrilled to find it at a knock-down price at his local TJ Maxx. It would be the first in a large collection. For as long as he can remember, Wiltschko has been obsessed by scent. “It’s how I’m wired."
