Amazon Adds $230M in Cloud Credits to AI Startups

Amazon is spending $230 million in AWS credits in AI companies, the latest cloud provider to aim to win AI clients early on

The credits will grant early-stage generative AI startups free access to infrastructure, diverse AI models, and computing capacity if they establish their companies on AWS.

Amazon asserts that it currently provides $1 billion in cloud credits annually to startups, with this new initiative emphasizing the support of generative AI startups.

“They will be able to pivot and iterate rapidly as needed.” Matt Wood, AWS’s vice president of AI Products, stated,

The company also announced that a portion of the credits will be allocated to the AWS Generative AI Accelerator program, which will support 80 early-stage companies worldwide. AWS credits of up to $1 million may be awarded to each startup accepted into the accelerator.

Cloud providers, such as Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, frequently provide credits to entice enterprises to utilize their services.

Cloud costs can accumulate as a company’s utilization levels increase.

To increase the market share of its AI platform, Amazon has broadened its cloud credits to include models from providers such as Anthropic, Meta, Mistral AI, and Cohere. This expansion was implemented earlier this year.

The utilization of cloud services has increased due to the demand for AI, facilitating the rapid expansion of cloud providers.

For example, AWS’s revenue increased by 17% in the first quarter to $9.42 billion, surpassing analyst expectations. Due to antitrust concerns, regulators have also expressed concern regarding the investment of tech titans in AI startups.

According to individuals informed of the situation, Howard Wright, the global director of startups at AWS, recently departed the company.

Wright was responsible for the management of startup relationships.