Amazon Heats Up AI Battle, Offers Free Credits For Startups To Use Rival Models With AWS

Author: Lekha Gupta | April 02, 2024 09:33am

Amazon.com, Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Amazon Web Service (AWS) has reportedly expanded its free credits program for startups.

Amazon will now allow its cloud credits to cover the use of models from other providers such as Anthropic, Meta, Mistral AI, and Cohere, reported Reuters.

The move reflects the company’s aim to boost the market share of its AI platform, Bedrock.

Also Read: Amazon’s Massive Spending To Thwart Unionization Efforts: Over $3M Spent On ‘Persuaders’ In 2023

Howard Wright, vice president and global head of startups at AWS, said, “This is another gift that we’re making back to the startup ecosystem in exchange for what we hope is startups continue to choose AWS as their first stop.”

The news follows Amazon’s other round of substantial investment in Anthropic, which brought the total investment to $4 billion.

As per the report, Amazon has offered over $6 billion in credits to startups in the past decade.

Moreover, Amazon, in a partnership with Y Combinator, is offering $500,000 in credits for the latest cohort launched in January. This can be used on AI models and Amazon’s chips.

Notably, other major cloud providers, such as Microsoft Azure, is giving out credits that can be used for OpenAI’s model, and Google’s cloud credit can be applied for over 130 models on Vertex AI.

Such investments have drawn scrutiny from regulators. In January of this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Thursday that it had launched an inquiry into generative AI investments and partnerships in order to better understand these relationships and their impact on the competitive landscape.

 Investors can gain exposure to the stock via SPDR Select Sector Fund – Consumer Discretionary (NYSE:XLY) and Vanguard Consumer Discretion ETF (NYSE:VCR).

Price Action: AMZN shares are down 1.03% at $179.11 on the last check Tuesday.

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