AWS Expands Generative AI Accelerator, Pledges $230 Million to Support Startups

Amazon Web Services (AWS) , a subsidiary of Amazon, has pledged $230 million to bolster generative AI startups by expanding its global Generative AI Accelerator.

This initiative aims to support 80 founders and innovators, including 20 from the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, through customized technical and business programming to accelerate their growth.

Applications for the AWS Generative AI Accelerator are now open until July 19, with the program running for 10 weeks starting October 1.

Selected generative AI startups will participate in sessions to develop skills in machine learning, stack optimization, and go-to-market strategies. They may also receive up to $1 million in AWS credits for AWS compute, storage, databases, and the top-performing ML accelerators AWS Trainium and AWS Inferentia2. Additionally, participants will benefit from business and technical mentorship and networking opportunities with industry experts.

AWS has also introduced the AWS Generative AI Spotlight program in the APJ region, a four-week accelerator aimed at nurturing pre-seed and seed-stage startups developing generative AI applications. This program will enhance startups' understanding and use of AWS's generative AI tools and services, providing access to business and technical knowledge from industry experts, founders, investors, and peer support from a community of innovators.

In India, AWS is partnering with venture capital firm Accel for the AWS Generative AI Spotlight program. Previously, AWS and Accel launched ML Elevate 2023, a six-week accelerator that supported 35 generative AI startups in India. The new program will select up to 120 pre-seed and seed-stage startups across the APJ region, including 40 from India, with applications open from June 13 to June 30. Selected startups will be announced in July.

"For 18 years, AWS has helped more startups build, launch, and scale than any other cloud provider – it’s no coincidence that 96% of all AI/ML unicorns run on AWS," said Matt Taylor , Head of Startups Solutions Architecture, APJ at AWS. "These two complementary accelerator programs will assist startups at various growth stages in the APJ region to innovate on our generative AI stack. From the best price-performance AWS-designed ML chips to training or fine-tuning foundational models and building AI applications, we’re excited to help startups transform customer experiences and our ways of living, working, and playing."

Amitabh Nagpal , Head of Startup Ecosystem, AWS India, added, "Generative AI offers businesses immense potential to accelerate innovation, revolutionize industries, and drive economic growth. The two distinct, complementary programs – the AWS global Generative AI Accelerator and the APJ Generative AI Spotlight – are tailored to early-stage generative AI startups, providing access to AWS credits, tools, and expertise. We encourage eligible startups in India to apply and look forward to empowering those driving generative AI-led transformation in the country."