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AWS Silicon Innovation

Improve performance, lower costs, and enhance security with AWS silicon

Accelerate innovation with AWS silicon

AWS has invested years designing custom silicon optimized for the cloud. This investment helps us deliver the best price performance for a wide range of applications and workloads using AWS services. Our innovations include processors, machine learning (ML) chips, and high-performance storage products.

  • AWS reimagined virtualization with the AWS Nitro System, the foundation of our modern compute infrastructure. By offloading software functionality to dedicated hardware, AWS-designed silicon gives us the flexibility to rapidly deliver new compute instances and capabilities with an ever-broadening selection of options. This unique design allows you to innovate faster using the latest technologies. You can also extend AWS infrastructure and services to hybrid and edge locations.

  • AWS silicon delivers increased performance that scales to meet your applications' needs. Nitro System-based Amazon EC2 instances can deliver over 15% higher throughput performance on some workloads as compared to other major cloud providers running the same CPU. AWS developed AWS Graviton processors to deliver more performance for your applications. Our newest AWS Graviton3-based instances deliver 25% better performance than the AWS Graviton2 generation.

  • AWS silicon gives you increased performance at lower costs. Graviton-based instances deliver up to 40% better price performance over comparable x86-based instances. Amazon EC2 Inf1 instances deliver up to 70% lower cost per inference than comparable current generation GPU-based instances. AWS Trainium offers the best price performance for training ML models in the cloud.

  • At AWS, security is our top priority. Our Nitro System is the core technology behind modern EC2 instances and delivers on your needs for confidential computing. The Nitro System offers built-in security at the chip level to continuously monitor and protect against potential attacks. Innovations such as AWS Nitro Enclaves provide even greater protection for sensitive data by using isolated compute environments.

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Join us for Silicon Innovation Day

Join us on June 21, 2023 to hear from AWS experts about AWS innovations in custom designed silicon chips built for the cloud. Discover how AWS designed silicon helps fuel customer outcomes.

Power your applications with AWS silicon

Seamlessly run workloads using hybrid cloud

Power a broad spectrum of workloads including application servers, open-source databases, in-memory caches, microservices, and gaming servers. AWS silicon also underpins hybrid cloud services such as AWS Outposts, AWS Local Zones, and AWS Wavelength. Our hybrid offerings deliver a consistent AWS experience in the cloud, on premises, and at the edge.

Train and deploy ML applications

Amazon EC2 delivers AWS-designed ML chips, Trainium and Inferentia, to train and deploy ML applications with high performance, lower costs, and easier migration from GPU-based instances.

Build and run macOS workloads

Amazon EC2 Mac instances, powered by the AWS Nitro System, let you provision and access macOS environments within minutes, using the high-security, high-performance AWS Global Infrastructure.

Securely process sensitive data

With AWS Nitro Enclaves, you can create isolated compute environments to further protect and securely process highly sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information and healthcare, financial, and intellectual property data within Nitro-based EC2 instances.