AWS Commits $230 Million to Back AI Startups Worldwide

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced a $230 million commitment to support startups developing generative AI applications. This initiative will provide early-stage companies with AWS credits, mentorship, and education to advance their use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies.^[1]  

Part of this funding will support the second cohort of the AWS Generative AI Accelerator program, which offers hands-on expertise and up to $1 million in credits to 80 top early-stage startups. These startups, which use generative AI to tackle complex challenges, will receive access to AWS's suite of technologies, including AWS Trainium, AWS Inferentia2, and Amazon SageMaker.

Applications for the AWS Generative AI Accelerator are open until July 19^th, with the selected startups announced on September 10^th. The program kicks off on October 1^st with in-person sessions at Amazon’s Seattle campus, culminating in a showcase at AWS re:Invent 2024 in Las Vegas from December 2^nd to 6^th.

The accelerator program targets startups addressing challenges in various sectors including financial services, healthcare, media, business, and climate change. Participants will receive mentorship from industry experts, technical sessions from NVIDIA, and membership in the NVIDIA Inception program.

Earlier this year, Amazon introduced a new artificial intelligence assistant for shopping called Rufus.

The purpose of the tool is to assist consumers with product shopping and searching. Customers using the Amazon mobile app can voice or enter questions into the search field, and a chat window will pop up at the bottom of the screen. Questions like "What are the differences between trail and road running shoes?" can be asked conversationally by users. or "Drop and pour-over coffee makers: a comparison."