Amazon is so dedicated to Echo it has 5,000 people working on new Alexa products

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Amazon is so dedicated to Echo it has 5,000 people working on new Alexa products

new amazon echo

Amazon

The new $99 Amazon Echo, which was unveiled on Wednesday.

Amazon unveiled a slew of new Alexa-enabled devices on Wednesday, doubling its lineup of hardware devices with its popular voice assistant built-in.

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In order to make that happen, Amazon employs a massive team to work solely on Alexa - 5,000 people, to be exact.

The stat was announced by SVP of Amazon devices and services Dave Limp at an event for the press at Amazon's Seattle headquarters on Wednesday.

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That figure is mind-boggling on its own, but especially when you compare other consumer hardware companies. CNBC points out that Amazon's army of Alexa engineers totals more than Fitbit and GoPro combined.

Still, the Alexa team amounts for roughly 1% of Amazon's massive global workforce of 382,000 people.

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The Alexa team is paying attention to how you're using Alexa on your Echo, too. Limp said the Alexa team tracks how people use their devices over time. As new popular uses emerge, Amazon assigns a "single threaded leader" to develop that aspect of the product. When they noticed people were using their Echoes as timers, for example, the timer skill got a team leader.

Amazon announced five brand-new Alexa-enabled devices on Wednesday, including a new $99 Echo, a premium device called the Echo Plus, a new device with a camera built in called the Echo Spot, a $69 Fire TV, and $20 buttons that let you play games with your Echo.

Additional reporting by Matt Weinberger.