Amazon’s Alexa Fund is US-based e-commerce, cloud and internet technology group Amazon’s corporate venturing fund, which was set up in 2015. It is dedicated to finding and supporting startups that work with voice technology.
The Alexa Fund has made 120 investments to date with 19 exits. Paul Bernard, who leads the fund, said in an interview with Global Corporate Venturing in 2019: “Our goal is to identify startups creating new experiences with Alexa or advancing the state of the art in voice technology and to give them the resources they need to grow their business.”
The Alexa Fund has $200m under management and focuses on voice technology innovation that is compatible with Alexa voice recognition systems. The team believes human voice-enabled devices will boost the way users interact with technology. In addition to funding, the fund supports entrepreneurs to transform their innovative ideas into products and services.
Recent deals involving the fund include participation in the seed round for Labrador Systems, a developer of assistive robots, involvement in smart contact lens developer Mojo Vision’s series B raise, and a lead role in the series A round for Australian music technology firm Splash.
Bernard has worked for Amazon since 2013: before taking the helm at the Alexa fund, he was the director for worldwide corporate development. Prior to joining Amazon he worked for mobile phone manufacturer Nokia for more than 12 years. Bernard has a law degree from the University of Ottawa as well as a master’s degree in management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
