Amazon has announced a commitment of up to $230 million for startups that are developing generative AI-powered applications. A significant portion of this investment, around $80 million, will be allocated to Amazon’s second AWS Generative AI Accelerator program. The goal is to establish AWS as a preferred cloud infrastructure option for startups working on generative AI models for their products, applications, and services. The majority of the funding, particularly the portion designated for the accelerator program, will be provided in the form of compute credits for AWS infrastructure, which cannot be transferred to other cloud service providers such as Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure.
In addition to the financial support, Amazon is offering startups in this year’s Generative AI Accelerator cohort access to expertise and technology from Nvidia, the program’s presenting partner. Furthermore, participants will have the opportunity to join the Nvidia Inception program, which connects companies with potential investors and offers additional consulting resources.
The Generative AI Accelerator program has experienced significant growth. In the previous year, there were 21 startups in the program, and they received up to $300,000 in AWS compute credits, resulting in a total investment of approximately $6.3 million.
According to Matt Wood, the VP of AI products at AWS, this new initiative aims to support startups in launching and expanding world-class businesses. It will provide them with the necessary tools to unlock new AI applications that will have an impact on various aspects of learning, connectivity, and business operations.
To keep up with its tech giant competitors in the thriving and increasingly competitive generative AI field, Amazon has been increasing its investment in generative AI technology. This includes initiatives such as the $100 million AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, offering free credits to startups utilizing major AI models, and the Project Olympus model. Despite Amazon’s claim of reaching a “multiple billions” run rate with its generative AI ventures, the company is often seen as having lagged behind in this area.
Amazon’s Alexa division has faced numerous challenges, including technical setbacks and internal conflicts, according to a recent report by Sharon Goldman of Fortune. Despite a high-profile demonstration of a “next-gen” Alexa nine months ago, the new version is reportedly not yet ready for widespread use due to issues such as lack of training data and limited access to necessary hardware.
In addition to these challenges, Amazon missed out on early opportunities to support two prominent AI startups, Cohere and Anthropic. While the company attempted to invest in Cohere later on, they were turned down and instead had to settle for a joint investment (albeit a substantial one totaling $4 billion) in Anthropic alongside their main competitor, Google.
Furthermore, Amazon is facing regulatory scrutiny over its involvement in AI startups, with the recent departure of Howard Wright, the head of startups at AWS, adding to the company’s obstacles. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has initiated an investigation into Microsoft’s support of OpenAI, as well as Google and Amazon’s investments in Anthropic. European policymakers have also expressed doubts about such partnerships.
