Amazon is restructuring its artificial intelligence strategy, deprecating many of its in-house AI models and concentrating resources on a new frontier-model effort, Business Insider reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, Amazon has begun winding down most of its flagship Nova AI models, including the Nova Premier, Omni, Reel, and Canvas models. The company is shifting resources toward frontier-model development led by researcher Pieter Abbeel.
Year when Amazon's AGI efforts began undergoing changes.
The strategic pivot comes just days after Amazon trimmed jobs in its artificial general intelligence (AGI) group. A spokesperson said last week that the company was sharpening its focus on "the initiatives that matter most for customers."
The new flagship model is expected to debut at Amazon's re:Invent annual conference later this year. Frontier research is described as a top priority for the company in 2024.
Amazon has struggled to generate buzz around its Nova models compared to competitors such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. The company is doubling down on providing cloud and AI infrastructure for enterprises.
While most Nova models are being deprecated, Amazon is not abandoning the Nova brand entirely. The new frontier model could still carry the Nova name. The existing Nova family includes Nova 2 Lite, Nova 2 Sonic, and Nova Forge, a service that lets customers build their own AI models using Nova.
Amazon's AGI efforts have undergone changes since 2023. In December, the company consolidated its AGI work under longtime cloud executive Peter DeSantis. Several top AGI executives have departed over the past year.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Business Insider report was published on July 28.