My latest industry checks indicate that Amazon’s processor procurement strategy for its own consumer electronics is set to undergo its first major shift in 20 years: moving away from externally sourced processors and adopting a COT (customer-owned tooling) model, with Alchip as the exclusive provider of back-end design and testing for its self-developed chips. Key points:
- Amid the rapid expansion of AI compute, Amazon’s free cash flow for the 12 months ended 1Q26 fell 95% year over year to about US$1.2 billion. To maintain financial flexibility and keep funding its AI investment cycle, Amazon is also streamlining its organization and improving the cost structure of its non-AI businesses.
- Amazon's own-brand consumer electronics, including Kindle, Fire TV, Echo, Alexa-enabled products, Blink, and Ring, currently use externally sourced processors. To optimize its cost structure, Amazon plans to gradually shift away from external sourcing and adopt a COT model similar to the one used for AI chip Trainium, taking more control of processor development in-house.
- For this transition, Amazon has selected Alchip as its exclusive partner for back-end design and testing. Alchip is expected to receive non-recurring engineering, or NRE, fees for each design project, while also benefiting from processor shipments.
- The strategy is expected to begin in 2027. Once the transition is complete, annual shipments of Amazon’s in-house processors are estimated at around 40 million units. This shift should help improve the cost structure of Amazon’s own devices and become a meaningful growth driver for Alchip.