AWS has been helping startups bring their ideas to life since day one by democratizing access to the technology that powers some of the world's largest companies, including Amazon. Since 2020, we have provided nearly $1 billion in AWS promotional credits to startups every year. It's no coincidence that 80% of the world's unicorns use AWS. During my time at AWS, I've been fortunate to have a front-row seat to the development of many startups, including Netflix, Wiz, and Airtasker. I'm also excited by the rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) by startups and how this technology is giving rise to an entirely new generation of startups. An astounding 96% of AI/ML unicorns run on AWS.
These generative AI startups have the power to transform industries and shape the future, which is why we're announcing them today. $230 million to accelerate the development of generative AI applications by startups around the worldWe are excited to work with visionary startups to help them grow and unlock new possibilities. In addition to this financial investment, today we are also announcing the second AWS Generative AI Accelerator in partnership with NVIDIA. This global, 10-week hybrid program is designed to power the next wave of generative AI startups. This year, we are expanding the program fourfold to serve 80 startups around the world. Selected participants will receive up to $1 million in AWS promotional credits to meet their development and expansion needs. The program also provides go-to-market support and business and technical mentorship. Participants will have access to AWS domain experts as well as a network that includes key AWS partners, including NVIDIA, Meta, and Mistral AI, as well as venture capital firms investing in generative AI.
Building the Cloud with Generative AI
In addition to these programs, AWS aims to enable startups of any size and developers of any skill level to build and scale generative AI applications with the most comprehensive set of capabilities across the three layers of the generative AI stack. At the bottom of the stack, we provide the infrastructure to train large language models (LLMs) and foundational models (FMs) and generate inferences and predictions. This includes the best NVIDIA GPUs and GPU-optimized software, custom machine learning (ML) chips such as AWS Trainium and AWS Inferentia, and Amazon SageMaker, which greatly simplifies the ML development process. At the middle layer, Amazon Bedrock enables startups to easily build safe, customized, and responsible generative AI applications using LLMs and other FMs from leading AI companies. At the top layer of the stack is Amazon Q, the most capable generative AI-powered assistant to accelerate software development and leverage a company's internal data.
Customers are innovating with technology across the entire stack. For example, at the VivaTech conference in Paris last month, I spoke with Michael Chen, VP of Strategic Partnerships. Poly AIPolyAI provides customized voice AI solutions for enterprises. PolyAI uses Amazon SageMaker to develop natural-sounding speech synthesis models and builds on Amazon Bedrock to ensure responsible and ethical AI practices. It uses Amazon Connect to integrate voice AI into its customer service operations.
Bottom of the stack, Ninja Tech NinjaTech uses Trainium and Inferentia2 chips and Amazon SageMaker to build, train, and scale custom AI agents. These AI agents save NinjaTech's users time and money by bringing the power of generative AI into their everyday workflows, from conducting research to scheduling meetings. I recently sat down with Co-Founder and CTO Sam Naghshineh to discuss how this approach can save users time and resources.
Leonardo.AILeonardo.AI, a startup from the AWS Generative AI Accelerator cohort of 2023, is also leveraging the capabilities of AWS Inferentia2 to enable artists and professionals to produce high-quality visual assets with unmatched speed and consistency. By reducing inference costs without sacrificing performance, Leonardo.AI is able to make the most advanced generative AI capabilities more affordable.
Leading generative AI startups such as Perplexity, Hugging Face, AI21 Labs, Articul8, Luma AI, Hippocratic AI, Recursal AI, and DatologyAI build, train, and deploy models on Amazon SageMaker. For example, Hugging Face We created the new open-source FM using Amazon SageMaker HyperPod, a feature that speeds up training by up to 40%. Automated job recovery minimizes interruptions during the FM training process, saving hundreds of training hours per year.
Middle Tier, Confusion We are building an AI-powered search engine using Amazon Bedrock and Anthropic Claude 3. Bedrock ensures robust data protection, ethical integrity through content filtering, and scalable deployment of Claude 3. Nexiotan innovator in transportation and supply chain solutions, used Anthropic Claude to rapidly migrate its Scope AI assistant solution to Amazon Bedrock to provide its customers with the best real-time conversational insights into their transportation assets.
Top layerAmazon Q Developer empowers startup developers to build, test, and deploy applications more quickly and efficiently, freeing up their valuable energy to focus on driving innovation. Ancileoan insurance SaaS provider for insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and affinity partners, is using Amazon Q Developer to reduce resolution time for coding-related issues by 30% and consolidate tickets and documentation into Amazon Q for faster onboarding so everyone in the company can find answers instantly. Amazon Q Business enables everyone at the startup to be more data-driven and use the collective knowledge of their organization to make better, faster decisions. BrightcoveA leading provider of cloud video services, deployed Amazon Q Business to streamline their customer support workflows, enabling their team to respond faster, provide more personalized service, and ultimately improve customer experience.
Resources for Generative AI Startups
The future of generative AI belongs to those who act now. The AWS Generative AI Accelerator Program will select a global cohort of the most promising generative AI startups from June 13 to July 19, 2024. Don't miss this unique opportunity to redefine what's possible with generative AI, apply now.
Other helpful resources include:
- You can use AWS Activate credits for Amazon Bedrock to try out FM with the full range of capabilities needed to build responsible generative AI applications with security and privacy.
- Dig deeper by exploring technical content, insights, and connecting with other developers in the Generative AI community space. AWS also offers free training to help your current and future employees leverage Amazon's Generative AI tools. If you're interested in learning how to build with Generative AI on AWS, check out our comprehensive Generative AI for Developers learning plan to gain the skills you need to create cutting-edge applications.
- NVIDIA offers NVIDIA Inception, a free program designed to help startups fast-track their development through cutting-edge technology, opportunities to connect with venture capitalists and access to NVIDIA's latest technical resources.
Apply now, explore resources, and join the generative AI revolution with AWS.
Additional resources
Twitch Series: Ship It with AWS! Generative AI
AWS Generative AI Accelerator Program: Apply Now
