Never one for standing still for very long, it appears e-commerce giant Amazon is now seeking out inventors, makers and start-ups, hoping to capitalise on yet another revenue stream.
Following a number of job posts made by the online giant, it seems a new online platform for inventors is on the way.
“They are trying to figure out how to engage with start-ups in new product categories in a more thoughtful way,” Re/Code quoted one Amazon source as saying, citing robots and wearables as the kind of products Amazon is targeting.
Following the Fire Phone debacle, in which its erratic creation cost tonnes of money and wasted years of researchers’ time, perhaps Amazon is hoping that, with inventors on board, it will have access to a hive of clever minds when it looks to open such a project again.
Or perhaps it’s just wanting in, nice and early, on the products that it will inevitably end up selling anyway.
Considering Amazon’s clear desire to engage its audience in its own App store – its October dispute with Google may have been brief, resolved unite quickly, but the intentions are obvious – a platform like this will pave the way for far greater engagement at concept level, opening the door to a potential app store of its own in the future.
Either way, along with opportunities such as Quirky in New York or Witworks in India to name but a few, the platforms for inventors are becoming more numerous and making things a whole lot easier. Add in that whole idea of crowd funding and it’s clear that inventors have never had such access to aid.
One of the job posts that suggests a whole new inventor department
Child inventor image, via Shutterstock
