The founder of an early-stage startup, Moula says the things he’s learned at more than five different educational sessions at the loft have made a world of difference for the travel booking tool he and his team are building.
“We build on Amazon Bedrock, and we’re always trying to improve our latency and the accuracy of our generative AI models,” he said of his company, Navoy. “The sessions at the loft definitely helped with that. It’s always helpful for us to learn how to make our product faster and how to balance the load between different models.”
And throughout this year, founders like Moula will have access to hundreds of hands-on education sessions, technical deep dives and networking opportunities at AWS Gen AI Lofts around the world.
From San Francisco, São Paulo, Tel Aviv, and Osaka and beyond — startup builders, developers, or anyone who’s an AI enthusiast can participate in the loft activities. Each loft is a collaborative environment where locals can connect with industry leaders and AI pioneers, gaining valuable networking opportunities with investors and peers.
"I've always been amazed by the communities around startups," says Jon Jones, Global VP, AWS Startups and Venture Capital. "Our AWS Gen AI Lofts serve as hubs where established AI leaders and startup founders can strengthen existing connections, and new communities can grow."
Here are some of the things you can expect to learn and do at the lofts this year:
1. Learn the latest about new LLMs, Amazon Bedrock, and AI Agents
Antje Barth is an AWS developer advocate who has led several deep-dive technical sessions at the lofts. “A really big topic right now in this space is around building agentic workflows, agentic applications,” she said after a Developer Day at the San Francisco loft. “We had sessions bringing together the community, startups, and it's really amazing to see how people are applying the technology and what they're building with it.”
2. Dig into demos
When startup founder and CEO Samir Menon began his career as a software developer years ago, he says he didn’t have a community like the one AWS offers young engineers today. With the AWS Gen AI Lofts, he’s able to connect with developers who might want to collaborate with his company, Dexterity Inc., which is building generative AI-powered robots to advance the logistics industry. During a fireside chat and demo at the San Francisco loft, Menon showed how the machines can understand the weight and size of each package while loading trucks and a cargo container without human intervention. “Engaging with serious developers who want to take our technology, build upon it and bring new products to market is very, very exciting for us,” he said.
3. Get guidance from technical experts
Startup founder Jeff Ivory taught himself to code during the pandemic. But when it came time to teach himself everything he needed to migrate the infrastructure for his gaming company, GamerXSociety, onto AWS, he had to enlist the guidance of experts. Connections he made through a bootcamp event at a loft led him to the technical expertise he and his team needed. “Every person that I met from the AWS team was so willing to help,” he said. “That was the energy throughout my entire loft experience."
4. Build necessary networks
Many come to the AWS Gen AI Lofts to build their networks with leaders in the generative AI industry. At an AWS bootcamp, Chris Morris, founder of photo startup Rush Roto, found himself mingling with investors he was unlikely to have had access to otherwise. “I learned how to pitch to some of the biggest venture capitalists in the world,” he said. “You can send out cold messages, but it’s hard to make a connection that way. Like so many things in the tech industry, it comes down to how much you can sit down and break bread with people.”
5. Create your own kind of community
From a group for up-and-coming software developer interns in São Paulo to Impact Bootcamps for founders in Paris, anyone can find their niche at loft events. More than half of the AWS Gen AI Loft calendars around the world are dedicated to community-led activities. AWS Community Hero Vanessa Santos made at least seven visits to the São Paulo loft space last year, participating in discussions on everything from PartyRock to career development and AWS Skill Builder. She leads AWS User Groups for a range of tech communities in the city. “I found my community here,” she said. “I found my crew that embraced me, and they connected me to even more.”
As the AWS Gen AI Loft locations open in innovation hubs around the world, those who aren’t able to visit in person can join many AWS event virtually, or explore a wide range of generative AI training opportunities below. Learning paths like Build your MVP with AWS are also available for startup founders online.
- AWS Certified AI Practitioner
- AWS Certified ML Engineer Associate
- Generative AI Essentials on AWS
- Exploring Amazon Nova models using Amazon Bedrock
- Introduction to Generative AI - Art of Possible
- Amazon Q Introduction
- Introduction to Responsible AI
- Developing Generative AI Solutions
- Generative AI Learning Plan for Developers
- Let’s Ship It - with AWS! Generative AI
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