Amazon Explores $50B OpenAI Deal to Power Alexa

OpenAI’s artificial intelligence models may soon help run Amazon’s Alexa, as the two companies explore a deep partnership tied to a massive potential investment. 

According to CNBC, Amazon is in discussions that could see it invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI, while also using OpenAI’s models across Alexa and other internal projects. The talks are still ongoing and not yet final. CNBC reports that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are personally involved in the discussions. 

The discussions are not one-sided. Alongside using OpenAI’s models, OpenAI could gain access to Amazon’s AI infrastructure, including its custom chips and computing power. That would be notable, as OpenAI has long relied heavily on Microsoft for cloud and compute resources.

If completed, the arrangement would deepen OpenAI’s enterprise reach while giving Amazon access to some of the most advanced AI models currently available.

Why Alexa matters so much to Amazon

For Amazon, Alexa is a critical piece of its broader AI strategy. The voice assistant, now more than 11 years old, was revamped last year with a new service called Alexa+, designed to better compete with rivals like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

Amazon has described Alexa+ as “model agnostic,” meaning it can route tasks to different AI models depending on the request. That flexibility is key to Amazon’s approach.

According to reports, Anthropic’s Claude model currently handles many of Alexa+’s more complex queries. Amazon has invested about $8 billion in Anthropic, making it one of the startup’s largest backers.

Amazon says it does not rely on just one AI system. In an interview with CNBC this week, Amazon’s top Alexa executive, Daniel Rausch, said most Alexa traffic still runs on Amazon’s own Nova models.

Rausch added that Amazon uses “upwards of 70 different models” and said the company has a “great partnership” with Anthropic and other model providers available through its Bedrock AI platform. An OpenAI partnership would add another major player to that already crowded mix.

A crowded and competitive AI assistant race

The potential deal throws Amazon into an increasingly complex web of AI alliances. OpenAI already has a relationship with Apple for Siri. But last month, Apple also struck a separate deal to use Google’s Gemini models for an upgraded Siri coming later this year.

For OpenAI, a deep partnership with Amazon might be strategically appealing. A source familiar with OpenAI’s strategy told CNBC that working with Amazon is seen as more “accretive” to its enterprise goals compared to its work with Apple, which could become more competitive as OpenAI pushes into its own AI hardware devices.

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