Amazon Web Services will now allow its free credits program for startups to encompass the use of major AI models from other providers, including Meta, Mistral AI, and Cohere, in addition to its own AI platform Bedrock, the company told Reuters on Tuesday.
The move could attract more AI startup customers to the AWS platform and potentially minimize the cost that those startups incur by using AI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated in January that developing the company’s most advanced AI model took $100 million.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Adam Selipsky speaks with Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei in November 2023. Photo by Noah Berger/Getty Images for Amazon Web Services
OpenAI rival Anthropic had to spend half of the revenue it generated in January paying cloud providers like Google and Amazon, according to The Information.
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Amazon concluded its $4 billion investment in Anthropic last week, and covers Anthropic’s AI models under its free credits program. Anthropic’s latest AI model appeared to display “meta-awareness” in internal tests.
Amazon stated that it has offered startups more than $6 billion in credits over the past 10 years. The company plans to offer half a million dollars in credits to startups in Y Combinator’s latest January cohort, per Reuters.
Amazon isn’t the first company to offer free cloud credits for startups. Google is offering up to $350,000 in credits and IBM offers credits in a trial period.
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