Amazon is committing $100 million to its newly announced Alexa Fund to support developers, manufacturers, and start-ups who are passionate about creating new experiences designed around the human voice.
Named for Alexa, the cloud-based voice service that powers Amazon Echo, the fund is open to anyone with an innovative idea for how voice technology can improve customers’ lives.
“Experiences designed around the human voice will fundamentally improve the way people use technology,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO.
“Since introducing Amazon Echo, we’ve heard from developers, manufacturers, and start-ups of all sizes who want to innovate with this new technology. With the Alexa Fund, we want to empower people to explore the boundaries of voice technology. We’re eager to see what they come up with.”
Amazon said it is looking for unique or novel applications of voice technology that leverage the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) or the Alexa Voice Service (AVS), which were also announced the same day.
ASK is a a collection of self-service APIs and tools that make it fast and easy for developers to create new voice-driven skills and capabilities for Alexa. AVS, on the other hand, is the same service that powers Amazon Echo, is now available to third party hardware makers who want to integrate Alexa into their devices—for free.
The Alexa Fund is launching with seven initial investments:
1. Orange Chef - a start-up that has created a new product for the kitchen called “Countertop,” a mobile app that connects to an ecosystem of cooking tools such as blenders and slow cookers to measure and track ingredients placed into those devices.
2. Scout Alarm - a do-it-yourself home security system provider and connected security device maker. The system includes a hub, entry sensors, motion detectors and a smartphone companion app.
3. Garageio - provides a system to control and to monitor the status of a garage door from anywhere. Garageio’s product — the Blackbox — is designed to be simple to install and fits onto existing garage door openers. The Blackbox then connects to the garage door via the home’s Wi-Fi network, and an associated smartphone app gives users control of the garage door from anywhere.
4. Toymail - is creating a new category of connected toys that enable parents and children to communicate without the need for the child to be using a smartphone or tablet device. Parents can talk to a child through a toy called the Mailman that has a speaker, a microphone, and an internet connection.
5. Dragon Innovation - provides a suite of products and services that help hardware start-ups and device makers go from “garage to factory” to make their ideas a reality with a framework that guides them through all stages of production—from prototype through sales. Dragon is committed to thinking “voice-first” when working with their customers on new products.
6. MARA - an intelligent, voice-based running assistant that provides performance data and training information during exercise, serving as a virtual running coach or personal trainer.
7. Mojio - a provider of connected car solutions. The company’s device connects to a vehicle’s OBD-II port and extracts driving performance, on-board systems status, and other diagnostic data.