OpenAI models could power Alexa as Amazon explores major AI partnership

OpenAI

• Amazon might integrate OpenAI models into Alexa and other products amid talks
• Amazon may invest $50 billion in OpenAI, terms not finalized yet
• OpenAI may switch from Microsoft to Amazon's AI infrastructure.

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OpenAI’s artificial intelligence models could soon be used inside Amazon products such as Alexa, according to people familiar with the discussions. CNBC confirmed on Wednesday that the two companies are exploring a partnership that would embed OpenAI technology into Amazon’s digital assistant and other internal projects.

The talks are unfolding alongside Amazon’s consideration of a massive investment in OpenAI, potentially worth up to $50 billion. The discussions are ongoing and have not been finalised, with terms still subject to change. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are said to be directly involved in the negotiations.

As part of a broader deal, OpenAI could also tap into Amazon’s AI infrastructure, including its in-house chips and computing capacity. That would mark a notable shift for OpenAI, which has historically relied heavily on Microsoft’s cloud and compute resources.

Amazon declined to comment on the report. The Information first revealed details of the potential partnership.

For Amazon, access to OpenAI’s models could strengthen a sprawling AI strategy that stretches across retail, cloud services and consumer devices. Alexa remains a central focus. The assistant was first launched more than a decade ago and was revamped last year with a new version designed to better compete with ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

The updated service, branded Alexa+, is described by Amazon as “model agnostic”, meaning it can route requests to different AI models depending on the task. While Amazon has built its own Nova models, it already relies on third-party systems for more demanding queries.

Anthropic’s Claude model currently handles many of Alexa+’s more complex interactions. Amazon has invested around $8 billion in Anthropic and hosts its models on Bedrock, Amazon Web Services’ AI marketplace. According to Amazon’s head of Alexa, Daniel Rausch, most traffic still runs through internal models, but the company uses more than 70 models overall and works closely with multiple external providers.

An OpenAI tie-up would add another heavyweight partner into that mix. It would also place OpenAI in a delicate position, given its existing relationships with other consumer tech companies. OpenAI already works with Apple on Siri, and Apple last month struck a deal with Google to use Gemini models in a future version of the assistant.

Sources say OpenAI views a partnership with Amazon as more aligned with its enterprise ambitions than its consumer-facing work with Apple, particularly as OpenAI accelerates its own push into hardware. The company last year acquired Jony Ive’s AI devices startup, io, in a deal valued at around $6.4 billion.