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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced in a message to staff on Wednesday that longtime AWS executive Peter DeSantis will lead a new AI-focused organization within the company.
This organization will be responsible for Amazon’s AI models like Nova, as well as silicon development and quantum computing, which help make AI tools faster and more efficient.
DeSantis has spent 27 years at Amazon, including eight years as an SVP for AWS, the cloud provider that powers about one-third of the internet. At AWS’s recent re:Invent event, Amazon hammered home its commitment to AI for enterprise use, so it makes sense that the company is spinning out a new team from AWS leadership.
“With our Nova 2 models just launched at re:Invent, our custom silicon growing rapidly, and the advantages of optimizing across models, chips, and cloud software and infrastructure, we wanted to free Peter up to focus his energy, invention cycles, and leadership on these new areas,” Jassy wrote.
Amazon’s increasing emphasis on AI comes at a time when the company is eager to strengthen its foothold in the AI race, perhaps more through investments than its own innovations. Last month, AWS announced a $50 billion investment in the U.S. government’s AI infrastructure. Amazon is also reportedly in talks to invest $10 billion in OpenAI, and has already invested $8 billion in OpenAI rival Anthropic.
