Amazon’s cloud unit said Thursday that it’s allocating $100 million for a center to help companies use generative artificial intelligence, the technology that’s taken off in the months since OpenAI unleashed its ChatGPT chatbot on the public.

It’s a small investment for a company with $64 billion in cash and half a trillion dollars a year in operating expenses. But the announcement shows that Amazon Web Services recognizes the significance of the current moment in generative AI and the importance of being in the conversation, alongside rivals Microsoft and Google.

As part of the latest announcement, Amazon said it will be adding some data scientists, engineers and solutions architects to the payroll. AWS said the center is already working with two customers, Highspot and Twilio. The company told AsumeTech that it’s a “program” rather than a physical center.

Amazon, which beat Microsoft and Google to the business of renting out servers and data storage to companies and other organizations, enjoys a commanding lead in the cloud infrastructure market. However, those rivals have had splashier entrances into generative AI, even though Amazon has drawn broadly on AI for years to show shopping recommendations and operate its Alexa voice assistant.

One challenge Amazon currently faces is in meeting demand for AI chips. The company chose to start building chips to supplement graphics processing units from Nvidia, the leader in the space. Both companies are racing to get more supply on the market.

Also, the way Selipsky sees it, AWS provides a measure of credibility in offering generative AI that eludes others in the space.

“AI is going to be this next wave of innovation in the cloud,” he said. “It’s going to be the next big thing that pushes even more customers to want to be in the cloud. Really, you need the cloud for generative AI.”

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