Xbox cofounder J Allard is working on ‘breakthrough’ devices at Amazon

Amazon has a brand new ZeroOne staff targeted on “breakthrough” units, and it’s led by Xbox cofounder and former Microsoft government J Allard, CNBC reports. Primarily based on a job itemizing for the staff, a type of merchandise is a great residence machine.

J Allard was one of many principal faces of the unique Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles, and through his practically 20-year tenure at Microsoft, he additionally labored on the Zune MP3 participant, Kin telephones, and Courier pill prototype. He joined Amazon to concentrate on “new concepts” in late 2024.

Job listings for his ZeroOne staff at Amazon embrace senior roles in applied science, product marketing, and customer insights. The outline for the utilized scientist position says the individual will work on “a brand new smart-home product,” whereas the product advertising job description vaguely mentions work on “an Amazon machine.”

It’s unclear when a product from ZeroOne may really be launched.

Sensible residence tech isn’t something new for Amazon, as the corporate already has numerous product traces inside its Alexa ecosystem, together with Echo units, and even different manufacturers it owns, like Blink and Eero. Amazon’s Alexa event in February was targeted virtually solely on its new AI-powered Alexa Plus good assistant, which is still invite-only and carries a $20 per thirty days subscription charge.