Amazon is putting up $100m to battle Microsoft and Google for the next generation of AI
While many companies are focused on bringing their versions of AI tools and AI writers to market, Amazon’s cloud division has been focused on helping startups reach that point instead, and the launch of its Generative AI Innovation Center takes that one step further.
The program is designed to connect AI and ML experts with AWS customers to help them design and deploy new generative AI products, and has just received $100 million in funding to kick start it which represents more than a quarter of a century of AI investments by the firm.
From launch, customers will include Ryanair, Highspot, Lonely Planet, and Twilio, but Amazon said in a press release that “companies of all kinds are excited about the potential of generative AI to transform their offerings and operations,” and the order books are only expected to grow.
AWS senior VP of Sales, Marketing, and Global Services, Matt Garman, highlighted customers’ hunger for “guidance about how to get started quickly and securely with generative AI.”
Garman continued: “Together with our global community of partners, we’re working with business leaders across every industry to help them maximize the impact of generative AI in their organizations, creating value for their customers, employees, and bottom line.”
In offering up its team of strategists, data scientists, engineers, and solution architects, AWS hopes to be able to fuel the next stages of research, such as drug discovery in healthcare and increased protection in finance. The $100 million in funding also facilitates the running of no-cost workshops, engagements, and other training opportunities.
Naturally, a heavy emphasis is set to be placed on the company’s own EC2 Instances powered by in-house Inferentia and Trainium chips, as well as Nvidia H100-powered instances.
Ultimately an opportunity for AWS to attract prospective customers to its own ecosystem, the launch of its Generative AI Innovation Center is set to be welcomed by startups and seasoned businesses alike as they battle to stay on-trend.