Amazon Alexa just raised the stakes ahead of HomePod

Amazon’s war on the Google Assistant – and pre-emptive assault on Apple’s HomePod – continues today, streamlining the ways for Alexa to spread to third-party hardware. The retail behemoth has been pushing Alexa as a simple way for device-makers to add AI smarts to their products without going to the time-consuming hassle and expense of developing their own virtual agent. …