Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc., has announced a $230 million commitment to accelerate the development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications in startups worldwide. This funding will provide startups, especially those in early stages, with AWS credits, mentorship, and education to boost the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) technologies.
Part of this new investment will fund the second cohort of the AWS Generative AI Accelerator program, which offers up to $1 million in credits to each of the 80 selected startups using generative AI to tackle complex challenges. Applications for the program are now open and will be accepted until July 19th.
“For over 18 years, AWS has helped more startups build, launch, and scale their businesses than any other cloud provider,” said Matt Wood, Vice President of Artificial Intelligence Products at AWS. “With this new effort, we will help startups launch and scale world-class businesses, providing the necessary components to unleash new AI applications that will impact every aspect of how the world learns, connects, and does business.”
Supporting Startups with Credits and Mentorship
Startups interested can find more information on how to access these funds on the AWS website. AWS credits can be used to access computing, storage, and database technologies, as well as AWS Trainium and AWS Inferentia2 high-efficiency AI chips. These credits can also be used on Amazon SageMaker, a fully managed service that helps businesses build and train their own AI models, and to access models and tools through Amazon Bedrock.
Success of the AWS Generative AI Accelerator
The AWS Generative AI Accelerator program identifies early-stage startups using generative AI to tackle challenges in areas like financial services, healthcare, entertainment, business, and climate change. Participants in the program will receive up to $1 million in AWS credits and access sessions on ML performance enhancement, stack optimization, and market strategies. Additionally, they will receive both business and technical mentorship, and access to industry and technology experts from NVIDIA, the program’s presenting partner.
The startups selected for the second cohort will be announced on September 10th, and the program will commence on October 1st with in-person sessions at the Amazon campus in Seattle. In December, all startups will participate in re2024 in Las Vegas, where they will present their solutions to investors, clients, partners, and AWS leaders.
Success Testimonials
“Thanks to AWS, we have been able to scale our generative AI platform to meet the growing demand from our global community of users,” said Jachin Bhasme, Co-founder and COO of Leonardo.AI, a suite of generative AI tools for creators. “The accelerator was an incredible experience. The business and technical mentorship we received and the connections we made played a crucial role in shaping our product and strategy.”