Amazon’s inaugural accelerator program, launched in 2016, focuses on conversational AI. Seven years later, Amazon Web Services leads another AI accelerator focused on the latest trend, generative artificial intelligence.
Amazon launched a 10-week global generative AI startup program today. Generative AI startup founders in the cohort may get AI models, tools, machine learning stack optimization, and specialized go-to-market counsel. Demo Day in San Francisco concludes the program.
AWS has no startup investment arm or AI/ML investment arm. However, accepted organizations will earn up to $300,000 in AWS credits to grow. The company said submissions are open for the next two weeks, and ten businesses will be picked.
Amazon’s Global Head of Startups, Howard Wright, stated in a blog post introducing the accelerator that entrepreneurs with a minimum viable product, traction with consumers, and product value propositions, as well as those already developing on AWS, will benefit most.
Why now is evident. Rob Ferguson, Amazon’s Global Head of AI/ML Startups, argues generative AI has unleashed creativity. Ferguson told TechCrunch, “Artificial intelligence and machine learning are some of the most revolutionary technologies of our century and have been a primary emphasis area for Amazon for more than 20 years…[we’re] enthusiastic about the next great thing we can help power through the cloud.
“We fund and create across three layers of the generative AI stack to move this technology out of the domain of research and make it available to customers of any size and developers of all skill levels,” he added.