Amazon will host a hardware event in New York City on February 26, where it is expected to provide an update on its Alexa digital assistant. The company has been racing to improve the software with more advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, responding to competition from rivals like ChatGPT and Gemini.
Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, has mentioned that a new version of Alexa could launch “in the near future,” and the company is working to rearchitect the brain of the assistant with new foundation models. The event will also include news from Amazon’s Alexa team, and senior vice president Panos Panay will attend.
Amazon has struggled to monetize its Alexa-enabled devices, despite having hundreds of millions of customers worldwide. To offset costs, the company plans to charge a monthly subscription fee for some users. A redesign of Alexa was first previewed in 2023, but few details have been shared since then. The company is now looking to cut costs and improve its devices business.
The event comes as Amazon faces increased competition in generative AI from rivals like OpenAI and Google. To stay ahead, the company has scheduled a “Go/No-go” meeting for February 14 to prepare for releasing an updated Alexa software with more advanced AI capabilities.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/05/amazon-announces-february-event-as-it-races-to-release-new-alexa.html