- Amazon invests $230 million in generative AI startups, mostly through AWS credits.
- Despite this, the company is playing catch-up to rivals in the AI race.
- Alexa division faces setbacks, and regulators scrutinize Big Tech’s AI investments.
Amazon is throwing a whopping $230 million at startups whipping up generative AI-powered applications.
The goal? Make AWS the go-to cloud infrastructure for these AI innovators, ensuring they stay within the Amazon ecosystem.
Dangling the AWS carrot
Most of the investment comes as AWS compute credits, with $80 million earmarked for the second AWS Generative AI Accelerator program.
To sweeten the deal, Amazon has roped in Nvidia, offering startups access to experts, tech, and the Nvidia Inception program perks.
Amazon’s ramping up its generative AI spending, but some say the company missed the boat. Despite claiming “multiple billions” in run rate for its various AI businesses, Amazon is scrambling to keep pace with its tech giant rivals in this fast-moving space.
Alexa’s woes and regulator rumblings
Amazon’s Alexa division has hit some snags, with technical setbacks and internal squabbles delaying the launch of its “next-gen” upgrade.
The company also missed opportunities to back AI rising stars Cohere and Anthropic.
To top it off, regulators are casting a wary eye on Big Tech’s investments in AI startups, posing additional challenges for Amazon’s ambitious plans.
