AWS for Telecom, in collaboration with NVIDIA, announces the Telco AI Fellowship

The telecommunications (telco) industry stands at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) transformation, with communication service providers (CSPs) actively seeking innovative solutions to enhance customer experience, optimize networks, and drive operational efficiency. Today, we’re excited to announce the Telco AI Fellowship: a first-of-a-kind collaboration between AWS and NVIDIA designed to accelerate AI adoption across the telco sector. This initiative streamlines the discovery and implementation of cutting-edge AI solutions, making it easier than ever for CSPs to identify and deploy the technologies that drive their digital transformation.

This initiative builds upon our long-standing collaboration with NVIDIA, taking our partnership to new heights by delivering an industry-focused program that harnesses our combined technical expertise and market presence to serve the unique needs of the “Telco of the Future.”

Through our collaboration with leading CSPs worldwide, we’ve identified critical challenges facing the industry: from developing custom models for telco-specific use cases to implementing robust security frameworks for sovereign AI workloads. To address these challenges head-on, we’re launching an innovative program with an annual cadence that showcases companies offering exceptional, ready-to-implement solutions for the telco industry. The Telco AI Fellowship also helps independent software vendors (ISVs) and startups lower the barrier to entry across the telco industry. For example, it helps them navigate complex telco supply chains more effectively, using AWS Marketplace to accelerate time-to-market and streamline procurement processes. This comprehensive approach represents a significant step forward in breaking down barriers to AI adoption across the telco industry.

As part of our first tranche of Fellows, we are excited to welcome: Arcee AI, DataStax, BRIA AI, Sand Technologies, Personal AI, and Archetype AI. In a follow-up post, we profile each of the candidates, highlighting the unique ways in which they’re using AWS and NVIDIA technology to transform the telco industry.

Unlocking an “easy button” for the AI-native toolkit

Although our users have been eagerly embracing generative AI solutions over the past year, they’ve consistently asked for a more streamlined approach to discovering and implementing Partner solutions that align with their specific needs. The Telco AI Fellowship initiative answers this call by cross-using the best elements of AWS for Telecom and NVIDIA programs with carefully selected strategic partners with a strong potential to accelerate our users’ data and AI transformation journeys.

Drawing inspiration from NVIDIA Inception’s successful track record of accelerating startup innovation, we’re creating a carefully curated ecosystem of AWS Partner and NVIDIA Inception solutions that address key telco industry challenges. These solutions combine the breadth and depth of AWS services with NVIDIA’s accelerated compute and software solutions, such as NVIDIA AI Enterprise, NVIDIA NIM microservices, and NVIDIA NeMo to deliver heightened performance, security, and scalability as our users look to these solutions to drive operational efficiencies, unlock new revenue streams, and reimagine best-in-class user experience.

From selection to success: a Telco AI Fellow’s journey

The Telco AI Fellowship program offers selected participants comprehensive support designed for real-world impact. Selected fellows receive prominent visibility through a dedicated AWS for Telecom microsite, direct access to AWS and NVIDIA subject matter experts, strategic showcase opportunities with AWS and NVIDIA industry teams, and tailored go-to-market and product positioning support to accelerate CSP value creation. This hands-on approach makes sure that innovative solutions gain visibility with telco experts at both AWS and NVIDIA, who work extensively with CSPs worldwide. By year-end, each Telco AI Fellow will have demonstrated their ability to address critical CSP AI/machine learning (ML) challenges while meeting rigorous AWS and NVIDIA standards for reliability, security, and performance.

In the first phase of a new cohort, a joint committee across NVIDIA and AWS nominates startups, ISVs, and AWS Partners who we believe are uniquely positioned to capture the benefits from this fellowship. After completing the standard AWS Partner onboarding success criteria, such as completing an AWS Foundational Technical Review or listing their solution on AWS Marketplace, newly-inducted Fellows focus on refining their portfolio of solutions and services to meet the needs of our telco customers. Following a review of their go-to-market materials to make sure of alignment with telco user requirements, Fellows may also benefit from the following activities: dedicated exhibition space at premier industry events such as DTW Ignite, access to NVIDIA and AWS account teams, and promotion of their solutions on AWS and NVIDIA social channels.

Join us on our 2025 journey

The journey toward an AI-native telco industry is just beginning, and the Telco AI Fellowship initiative represents a crucial step forward in this transformation. Bringing together the broad and deep AWS capabilities across generative AI, coupled with NVIDIA’s accelerated computing, allows us to establish a framework for sustainable, at-scale AI innovation. As we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, we invite innovative organizations to join us in this journey to reshape the future of telco through the power of AI. Stay tuned for future updates from the Telco AI Fellowship on the AWS for Telecom blog and AI Solutions for Telecom Operations.