Amazon Reportedly Developing More Powerful Alexa Assistant Codenamed 'Moonraker'
According to Business Insider, Amazon is working on an upgraded version of Alexa+ capable of handling complex multi-step tasks, but the project faces high GPU costs and internal skepticism.
Amazon is reportedly developing a new version of its Alexa assistant, aimed at bolstering its position in the AI assistant market. Business Insider, citing internal planning documents, reports on a project codenamed 'Moonraker' designed to expand the capabilities of the existing Alexa+ assistant. The focus is on building 'agentic' abilities – enabling the assistant to handle multiple simultaneous requests, such as booking a ride and texting a friend in a single interaction. This move would allow Alexa to better compete with similar models from Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
However, the project comes with significant costs – the documents project GPU expenses exceeding $100 million in 2026. The documents also suggest either delaying or scaling back Moonraker's ambitions. A person familiar with the matter told Business Insider that some senior Amazon employees believe the company has already spent too much on the AI models powering the current Alexa iterations.
Business Insider also claims to have seen a separate document from late 2025 detailing Amazon's plans to use 'hundreds' of NVIDIA GPUs, along with an Anthropic Sonnet model for testing advanced reasoning and visual responses. Alexa+ officially launched nationwide in the US only at the beginning of 2026, and in countries like the UK it remains in Early Access. The rollout has not been smooth, with many users reporting issues handling basic requests that were not present in previous versions. In her early impressions, Engadget's Cherlynn Low praised Alexa+'s improved conversational abilities but noted it often struggled to remember previous conversations and requests when using apps like Uber.
Despite the Moonraker leaks, Amazon appears committed to evolving Alexa+. In February, it introduced three new personality styles allowing customization of the assistant's interactions. A 'sassy' option later arrived, giving Alexa a foul-mouthed makeover. A few months ago, Amazon also added natural language food delivery orders through apps such as GrubHub and Uber Eats.
