AI news at Amazon: $1 billion innovation fund & AI microchips

For over 25 years, we have been pioneering the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to delight customers, deploying these tools for everything from curating customer recommendations in the 1990s to debuting Alexa a decade ago. Today, Amazon teams are innovating ways to leverage AI in more areas than ever before, from health care and climate advocacy to business and entertainment.

As our integration of AI continues to evolve, we’re launching a roundup of Amazon’s most recent AI news each month. Here’s a look at some of our biggest announcements from November.

Generative AI for recapping TV shows

Prime Video’s New Feature Uses AI to Recap What You’re Watching

Need a good summary of what happened on your favorite show? Or maybe you forgot how last season ended? Prime Video now offers X-Ray Recaps where customers can ask for a summary and, using the powers of generative AI, Prime Video will deliver a customized refresher on plot twists, cliffhangers and changes with characters. It also never includes spoilers, so you can catch up cautiously.

Cloud adoption plus AI will contribute trillions of dollars to global GDP

An AWS data center in northern Virginia.

AWS and Telecom Advisory Services released three studies highlighting the economic impact of cloud computing and AI. Cloud adoption contributed over $1 trillion to global GDP in 2023, while cloud-enabled AI added $98 billion. Between 2024 and 2030, cloud adoption's GDP impact is projected to exceed $12 trillion, with cloud-enabled AI contributing an additional $1.5 trillion. AWS powers digital transformation across industries, and has millions of active customers around the world, helping enable innovations like those from Lyell, Moderna, Blackboard, PBS, Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, Delta Airlines, Ford, and many more.

Expanding funding for innovation

Since 2022 Amazon's Industrial Innovation Fund, a one-billion-dollar venture program, has made close to a dozen investments in technologies that optimize supply chains and deliver orders to customers at lower costs. Franziska Bossart, a seasoned venture capital and digital transformation expert, leads the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund. We spoke with her about the future of supply chain tech and the Fund’s investment focus.

A new lineup of Fire HD tablets

Children at table with snacks and Amazon Fire tablet

This month we announced generative AI-powered features for Fire tablets, helping customers be more productive and creative throughout their day. The Fire HD 8 lineup now includes 50 percent more RAM for enhanced performance while streaming, gaming, browsing, or downloading photos and videos. It also includes an improved 5MP rear-facing camera; 32 or 64 GB of storage; up to 13 hours of battery life; and an 8-inch, vibrant HD display made with strengthened aluminosilicate glass. Fire HD 8 Kids and Fire HD 8 Kids Pro will also have increased RAM to handle all of the books, games, videos, and apps available in the included subscription to Amazon Kids+, Amazon’s award-winning content service for kids that comes free with each device.

More investment for researching AI microchips

An engineer assembling hardware at Annapurna Labs.

This past month Amazon announced a $110 million investment for Build on Trainium, a university-led research program for generative AI. Build on Tranium, named for Amazon Web Service's flagship microprocessor which specialize in running the applications necessary for training artificial intelligence, will provide compute hours so researchers have the opportunity to build new AI architectures, machine learning (ML) libraries, and performance optimizations.

Advancements in artificial intelligence mean everyone—not just large corporations—have access to the tools that build the technology. Build on Tranium created a Trainium research UltraCluster with up to 40,000 chips designed for the unique workloads and computational structures of AI.

Expanding Amazon Fire TV

Amazon makes Fire TV more intelligent, accessible, and connected every year by putting content—not apps—at the center of your experience. Our new Fire TV lineups now includes the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED Series which has a stunning, cinematic QLED Mini-LED display and delivers up to 1,400 nits of peak brightness and up to 1,344 dimming zones. The Fire TV Soundbar Plus, also puts a 3.1-channel, all-in-one soundbar in your living room with support for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and DTS TruVolume. Customers enjoy an immersive home theater audio experience with deep bass and brilliant high-tone clarity. The Fire TV 4-Series now also features an ultra-slim screen which fades into the background of your life, and delivers beautiful 4K UHD with support for HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Sound.

Introducing our largest smart display

Echo Show 15 (left) and Echo Show 21 (right)

Amazon recently upgraded Echo Show 15 and introduced Echo Show 21, wall-mountable, Alexa-enabled smart displays. These devices are ideal for household organization, streaming entertainment with Fire TV built-in, and controlling smart home devices—but the list of features goes on. Echo Show 15 and 21 feature improved audio and camera quality over the original Echo Show 15, plus add a smart home hub for seamless control over your connected home and WiFi6E compatibility, making experiences like Fire TV video and music streaming smoother.

Learn more about AI innovation at Amazon.