AWS launches a program to support startups developing artificial intelligence platforms.

Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon, has officially opened the third round of applications for the AWS Generative AI Accelerator (GAIA) program, an eight-week program for early-stage startups globally, designed to help them scale up their AI-generated platform technologies.

This year, 40 promising startups from around the world will be selected to participate in the program, scheduled to launch on October 13th at Amazon's headquarters in Seattle. Applications will be accepted from June 10th to July 10th, and the list of selected startups will be announced on September 24th, 2025.

With generative AI tools becoming increasingly prevalent, AWS is focusing its efforts in 2025 on supporting startups developing generative AI technologies, including building models, infrastructure, refinement tools, and autonomous workflows—electronic workflows that will drive the next wave of innovation.

The program aims to accelerate these teams through support packages including up to $1 million in AWS credits, technical guidance and mentorship, market access support, and access to AWS's evolving AI ecosystem.

Jon Jones, Vice President and Global Head of Startups at AWS, shared: “We are entering a phase where virtually every startup will be applying AI generation in business in various forms. Therefore, with this year’s accelerator program, we are focusing on supporting startups that are developing foundational technologies that will shape the future potential of AI.”

According to Jon Jones, this year's program is part of AWS's ongoing commitment to fostering innovation in generative AI globally by providing disruptive startups with credit, mentorship, and opportunities to scale confidently.

AWS Generative AI Accelerator is an eight-week hybrid program that includes online sessions interspersed with in-person opening day sessions at Amazon headquarters in Seattle and concludes at the AWS re:Invent 2025 event.

Startups developing large-scale programming languages (LLMs), infrastructure tools, model refinement platforms, or specialized platform agents are encouraged to apply. Companies need to have a minimum viable product (MVP), have initial users or market feedback, and possess a strong engineering team. No prior AWS experience is required; however, startups building on AWS will have a significant advantage due to direct support for system architecture and market access.

Tran Duc, CEO of AI Hay, a startup that participated in the AWS Generative AI Accelerator program in 2024, said: “AI Hay is developing a generative AI model created by Vietnamese people, for Vietnamese people. Thanks to this support, we have been able to expand from training models with 100 million parameters to advanced models with up to 32 billion parameters – something that was previously beyond our capabilities. These capabilities enable startups like AI Hay to provide solutions faster, more diverse, and create a greater impact.”

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