Amazon 's devices unit has established a new team, named ZeroOne , which is tasked with inventing “breakthrough” consumer products, a report claims. This new team is reportedly being led by J Allard, a former Microsoft executive who contributed to the creation of the Xbox. The ZeroOne team, which is said to be focused on both hardware and software projects, aims to develop product ideas from conception to launch – a "zero to one" mission, as its name suggests. The team operates across Seattle, San Francisco, and Sunnyvale, California, according to recent job postings. An Amazon spokesperson has confirmed to CNBC that Allard is overseeing the ZeroOne team but didn't provide further details about the group's specific projects. Allard's LinkedIn profile also shows that he's working as the VP of the ZeroOne team since September 2024.
What are the major achievements of Xbox co-creator J Allard
Allard, who worked at Microsoft for 19 years and previously served as its technology chief of consumer products before departing in 2010, was an architect of the Xbox game console.
He also worked on the Zune, Microsoft's portable media player. Allard joined Amazon in September and reports to Panos Panay, who also moved from Microsoft to Amazon in 2023 to head the devices and services group.
What is Amazon’s ZeroOne team and what it is working on
As per the CNBC report, job postings for Amazon’s ZeroOne unit revealed limited specifics about the team’s projects. One of the listings mentions involvement in “conceiving, designing, and bringing to market computer vision techniques for a new smart-home product,” the report noted.
The description of ther job posting (as seen by CNBC) says: “You’ll be part of a team that embraces design thinking, rapid experimentation, and building to learn. If you’re excited about working in small, nimble teams to create entirely new product categories and thrive in the ambiguity of breakthrough innovation, we want to talk to you.”
According to LinkedIn profiles of ZeroOne employees, Amazon has brought in personnel from other divisions with backgrounds in developing technologies such as the Alexa voice assistant, Luna cloud gaming service, and Halo sleep tracker. The group is also being led in part by the former head of Lightform, a projection mapping startup acquired by Amazon.
As Amazon expands certain parts of its devices division, such as the ZeroOne project, it is simultaneously scaling back others. Earlier this month, the company laid off around 100 employees across its devices and services group, affecting teams working on Alexa, Amazon Kids, and its hardware R&D arm, Lab126.
More than 50 of those job cuts were at Lab126’s Sunnyvale facilities, according to WARN filings. While Lab126 has been behind major successes like the Kindle and Echo, it has also produced flops such as the Fire Phone and Halo tracker. Amazon noted that the layoffs impacted only a small fraction of its devices and services workforce, which numbers in the tens of thousands.
What are the major achievements of Xbox co-creator J Allard
Allard, who worked at Microsoft for 19 years and previously served as its technology chief of consumer products before departing in 2010, was an architect of the Xbox game console.
He also worked on the Zune, Microsoft's portable media player. Allard joined Amazon in September and reports to Panos Panay, who also moved from Microsoft to Amazon in 2023 to head the devices and services group.
What is Amazon’s ZeroOne team and what it is working on
As per the CNBC report, job postings for Amazon’s ZeroOne unit revealed limited specifics about the team’s projects. One of the listings mentions involvement in “conceiving, designing, and bringing to market computer vision techniques for a new smart-home product,” the report noted.
The description of ther job posting (as seen by CNBC) says: “You’ll be part of a team that embraces design thinking, rapid experimentation, and building to learn. If you’re excited about working in small, nimble teams to create entirely new product categories and thrive in the ambiguity of breakthrough innovation, we want to talk to you.”
According to LinkedIn profiles of ZeroOne employees, Amazon has brought in personnel from other divisions with backgrounds in developing technologies such as the Alexa voice assistant, Luna cloud gaming service, and Halo sleep tracker. The group is also being led in part by the former head of Lightform, a projection mapping startup acquired by Amazon.
As Amazon expands certain parts of its devices division, such as the ZeroOne project, it is simultaneously scaling back others. Earlier this month, the company laid off around 100 employees across its devices and services group, affecting teams working on Alexa, Amazon Kids, and its hardware R&D arm, Lab126.
More than 50 of those job cuts were at Lab126’s Sunnyvale facilities, according to WARN filings. While Lab126 has been behind major successes like the Kindle and Echo, it has also produced flops such as the Fire Phone and Halo tracker. Amazon noted that the layoffs impacted only a small fraction of its devices and services workforce, which numbers in the tens of thousands.
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