![]() Despite years of investment and hundreds of people working on it, Astro has faced mediocre reviews and internal scorn, and is still hard to buy.Īmazon wants to revamp Astro with new ChatGPT-like features to make it smarter and more conversational using new AI models, as Insider previously reported. The Astro home robot, in particular, has been a disappointment for people in and out of the company. Poor financial performance and changing company directions have led to low employee morale, as Insider previously reported. ![]() Last year, the Alexa unit was a prime target of companywide layoffs. Tom Taylor, SVP of Alexa, announced his retirement on the same day.Īmazon's Alexa and personal devices team are going through a painful period. In August, Lab126's longtime president Gregg Zehr left, ending an 18-year career at Amazon, as Insider previously reported. Washington is the latest high-profile VP to leave Amazon's Lab126 hardware unit. The spokesperson also said Astro is "off to a very promising start." In an email to Insider, Amazon's spokesperson confirmed Washington's departure. "As you all know, I'm VERY optimistic about the potential of robots in home and business environments, and I'm excited to see continued progress and invention under Lindo's leadership," Limp wrote. In a separate email, Dave Limp, Amazon's SVP of devices and services, thanked Washington for his work and reiterated his commitment to the home robot business. "We continue to see positive momentum and demand, and hear from customers every day about how Astro is improving their lives." "In addition to shipping Astro to customers, we've realized the potential Astro offers for business customers, anticipated how emerging technologies could support our vision, partnered with universities to build new experiences, and rolled out helpful new features," Washington wrote in his email to employees. It's unclear where Washington is headed next. Washington's team will move under VP of engineering Lindo St. At Amazon, he was in charge of the consumer robotics unit, which oversees Astro, the home monitoring robot that remains invite-only 18 months after its launch. Washington joined Amazon in August 2021, after spending 7 years at Ford, where he was Chief Technology Officer. Washington is the latest high-profile executive to leave Amazon's hardware devices unit.Īmazon's VP of consumer robotics Ken Washington is leaving the company, according to an internal email seen by Insider.Washington's team was in charge of the much-hyped Astro home robot.Ken Washington, VP of consumer robotics, is leaving Amazon.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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