Overview

• ZeroOne formally launched in May under vice president J Allard to explore Amazon’s next generation of consumer devices.
• The group spans Seattle, San Francisco and Sunnyvale, drawing on talent from Alexa, Luna and Lab126 to tackle hardware-driven software projects.
• Job postings indicate at least one initiative involves conceiving and commercializing computer vision techniques for an unannounced smart-home device.
• The creation of ZeroOne followed layoffs of roughly 100 employees from Amazon’s devices division earlier this month as the company refocuses its innovation efforts.
• Although Amazon has a mixed track record in hardware, the timeline for releasing ZeroOne’s products remains undetermined as the company seeks to avoid past missteps.