AWS Startups Blog
Author: Howard Wright
Howard Wright is the VP and Global Head of AWS Startups, a global organization dedicated to helping startups to create, build, and grow on the world’s leading cloud platform. Prior to joining AWS, Howard was CEO and President of C360 Technologies, a computer vision SaaS company that provides ultra-high-quality video solutions to broadcasters and sports leagues. Before that, he led digital for sports and entertainment at Intel Capital, and spent 14-years at Qualcomm Inc., culminating in his role as Senior Vice President. Howard holds a bachelor’s degree in Qualitative Economics from Stanford University, where he also played collegiate basketball. He continued his athletic career by becoming a professional basketball player in the NBA, playing with the Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic, and Atlanta Hawks. Howard was inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. Howard is currently active on several national charitable boards, including serving as Chairman of the Pro Kids Golf Academy and Learning Center.
AWS Activate credits now accepted for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock
Today, we’re taking another step to make it even easier for founders to build and iterate on their solutions using the latest technologies. We’re making AWS Activate credits redeemable for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock, our fully-managed service that offers a choice of high-performing foundation models (FMs) from leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies, like AI21 Labs, Anthropic, Cohere, Meta, Mistral AI, Stability AI, and Amazon via a single API.
AWS launches global generative AI accelerator for startups
Building on the exciting new developments around generative AI, we are happy to launch the AWS Generative AI Accelerator, a 10-week program designed to take the most promising generative AI startups around the globe to the next level.
Fighting funding disparity with Amazon Catalytic Capital
In October 2022, Amazon launched its Catalytic Capital initiative, investing $150 million in funds to underrepresented entrepreneurs. Now, AWS is further accelerating the conversation through strategic partnerships and data-driven reporting with the publication of the State of Black Venture Report, launched Tuesday at the 2023 State of Black Venture event hosted by BLCK VC at the AWS Startup Loft in San Francisco, California.