Blake Nussey
Senior Technical Product Manager, Alexa International at Amazon
Blake Nussey is a senior technical product manager on Amazon's Alexa International team, Brisbane-born and now based in Seattle. He worked with Amazon's engineers, scientists and Sydney-based team to localise Alexa+, Amazon's AI-powered voice assistant, so it understands distinctly Australian references — down to the difference between a latte and a flat white — ahead of its gradual Australian rollout from August 2026. On Day One's In The Blink Of AI, Nussey discussed voice AI, far-field microphone technology and the specific work of building an assistant for Australian users.
Key moments
Jump straight to the part of Inside Alexa Plus: Amazon's Blake Nussey on Voice AI, Far Field Tech and Building for Australia you want.
- 0:00 Cold open: FSD and "don't lead the witness"
- 6:27 Most non-AI thing: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- 8:30 Evolution of Alexa to Alexa Plus
- 9:59 Behind the scenes: how Alexa picks the right model
- 12:51 Smart home routines and the "corporate athlete" habit
- 15:29 Alexa recommends a book (the Kindle story)
- 17:12 Building Australian Alexa: colloquialisms and local speech
- 20:58 What made the Aussie rollout hard
- 22:36 2 billion interactions and Australian usage patterns
- 24:32 Kids and Alexa: safety, kids mode, and development
Connections
Spot something wrong? Suggest a correction Updated 25 September 2026
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