Amazon Would Team Up With Apple and Google on Alexa Voice Assistant

Amazon is willing to team up with competitors Apple and Google if it would help improve customers’ experience with its Alexa voice-activated virtual assistant, an executive working on the platform said, according to Bloomberg.

The company that is already working with Microsoft on productivity features for Alexa such as calendar interactions, will put the user first in pursuit of any other partnerships, said Toni Reid, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Echo devices. "We are super passionate about the customer approach," Reid said in an interview.

The Seattle-based retailer has 5,000 people working on Echo home speakers and the Alexa platform that powers the devices, Reid said. Amazon sees uses for voice-activated devices in every room of the home, as well as in cars and hotels, she said.

Amazon’s rivals already have competing products: Apple is set to roll out its own HomePod smart speaker with Siri, its digital assistant, later this year, and Google’s range of Home devices come equipped with the internet giant’s virtual helper.