Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is committing $230 million in Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits to support artificial intelligence (AI) startups, marking another effort by cloud providers to attract AI clients from their early stages.
These credits will offer early-stage generative AI startups free access to computing power, a variety of AI models, and essential infrastructure, provided they build their companies on AWS.
Amazon already provides $1 billion in cloud credits annually to startups. This new commitment specifically aims to support generative AI startups.
“They’ll be able to iterate and pivot very quickly as necessary. Ultimately, when they hit on that home run, they’ll be able to scale with security, responsibility, and consistency,” said Matt Wood, vice president of AI Products at AWS.
Part of the credits will also support 80 early-stage companies globally through the AWS Generative AI Accelerator program. Each startup admitted to the accelerator could receive up to $1 million in AWS credits.
It’s common for cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud to offer credits to entice enterprises to use their services, as cloud costs can accumulate as a company’s usage increases.
Earlier this year, Amazon expanded its cloud credits to include the use of models from providers such as Anthropic, Meta, Mistral AI, and Cohere, aiming to increase the market share of its AI platform.
The rising demand for AI has driven up the usage of cloud services, accelerating growth for cloud providers. For instance, AWS’s revenue increased by 17% to $9.42 billion in the first quarter, surpassing analyst expectations. The investments by tech giants in AI startups have also drawn attention from regulators over antitrust concerns.
Howard Wright, global head of Startups at AWS, who managed startup relationships, recently left the company, according to sources familiar with the matter. Amazon declined to comment on his departure.
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