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Applied AI·August 7, 2026·1 min read

Keen to get Alexa+ but don’t have the necessary hardware? These are the 9 Amazon devices we recommend to get you up and running

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Tying Alexa+ to specific devices turns the assistant into a hardware-led distribution channel — not just an app. If you build consumer experiences on top of assistants, design for fragmentation by device and geography rather than assuming a uniform Alexa surface.

Applied AI

Sources: Alibaba plans to ask heavy commercial users of its next Qwen open model for a share of revenue; Moonshot's Kimi K3 requires up to a 30% revenue share

“Open” foundation models are converging on usage- or revenue-based tolls for serious commercial deployment — Alibaba reportedly targeting major Qwen users while Moonshot’s Kimi K3 already takes up to 30%. If your product P&L assumes free or one-time-cost open models, you need to re-underwrite unit economics and vendor leverage now.