Sources: Amazon launches a cost-cutting review focused on unprofitable businesses, including devices unit, which had a $5B annual operating loss in recent years (Wall Street Journal)

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon Alexa gains smart home features like a multi-camera view; Amazon says Alexa triggers 30%+ of users’ smart home interactions without users saying anything  —  Amazon today announced a number of new smart features designed to allow Alexa device owners to better control their smart home …

Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:
Report: Amazon’s hardware group may lose $10B in 2022, as many Echo devices are sold at cost and plans to monetize Alexa have failed  —  Layoffs reportedly hit the Alexa team hard as the company’s biggest money loser.  —  Amazon is going through the biggest layoffs in the company’s history right now …

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Amazon will roll out Customers Ask Alexa, which lets brands answer some common customer questions and provide links to their storefronts, starting in late 2022  —  Amazon wants Alexa owners to buy more things.  That’s the clear impetus behind the new Alexa feature announced today …

Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
BMW and Amazon partner to let BMW use Alexa’s technology to build its own voice assistant, coming to cars launching within the next two years  —  Amazon Alexa will be the foundation of BMW’s next-generation voice assistant, the companies announced Wednesday at Amazon’s annual Devices and Services launch event.

Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed News:
Some musicians with songs about “poop” say Amazon Music has become their biggest source of revenue, likely due to kids yelling the word at Alexa-enabled devices  —  “Alexa, play ‘Poopy Stupid Butt’ again.”  —  There are many topics that my 5-year-old and I don’t see eye to eye on …

Giles Turner / Bloomberg:
UK-based Unlikely AI, founded by William Tunstall-Pedoe who helped develop several key technologies used by Amazon’s Alexa, raised a $20M seed  —  The inventor of several key technologies used by Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa service raised $20 million to fund a new startup in the UK.