Amazon Launches ZeroOne Division to Pioneer Next-Generation Consumer Devices

Amazon has recently launched a new division called ZeroOne, dedicated to developing groundbreaking consumer products for the mass market. Job openings for this team are available in Seattle, San Francisco, and Sunnyvale, California.

The division is led by Jay Allard, a former executive at Microsoft. Allard spent 19 years at the company and was instrumental in the creation of the Xbox gaming console. He was also involved in the development of the Zune media player. Allard joined Amazon in September and is currently listed as the Vice President of ZeroOne on his LinkedIn profile.

ZeroOne operates within Amazon’s Devices and Services division, which is overseen by Panos Panay, another former Microsoft executive who joined Amazon in 2023.

According to Amazon, ZeroOne’s mission is to develop innovative solutions «from the ground up.» The name of the team encapsulates this philosophy—»from zero to one.» Based on job descriptions, the team is working on both hardware and software projects, including an initiative focused on computer vision for smart home devices. While specifics about ZeroOne’s work remain undisclosed, job postings indicate an emphasis on rapid development, testing ideas, and gathering user feedback.

The ZeroOne team includes members who previously worked on Alexa, the Luna gaming service, and the Halo sleep tracker. It also includes the head of the startup Lightform, which Amazon acquired earlier.

As ZeroOne expands, Amazon is also reducing other areas within the Devices and Services division. In May, the company laid off around 100 employees, impacting teams associated with Alexa, Amazon Kids, and Lab126, with 50 being released from the Lab126 offices in Sunnyvale. Amazon stated that these layoffs represent only a small fraction of the larger division, which employs tens of thousands of individuals.