At the Mobile World Congress (MWC2025), which is currently underway (March 3-6, 2025), Vishal Sharma, Amazon's vice president of general artificial intelligence, announced that there are few business units at Amazon that are not affected by AI. This statement not only reflects Amazon's far-reaching layout in the field of AI, but also reveals the widespread penetration of AI technology in business operations. China Exportsemi will conduct a comprehensive analysis of Amazon's AI business from three dimensions: technology, strategy and future prospects, and explore its position and potential impact in the industry.
Full penetration of Amazon's AI business
1. Cloud Computing Services (AWS)
Amazon's cloud computing service, AWS, is the world's leading cloud service provider, and AI technology is particularly widely used in it. AWS provides a wide range of tools and solutions to support the development, training, and deployment of machine learning models, as well as real-time speech recognition and natural language processing technologies. For example, AWS's Amazon EC2 P5e instances are accelerated by NVIDIA H200 Tensor Core GPUs, which provide 1.7x higher GPU memory capacity and 1.5x higher memory bandwidth than the previous generation of P5 instances. These instances are designed for GPU-intensive workloads such as large language models (LLMs), generative AI models, and high-performance computing (HPC), providing significant performance and cost-effectiveness.
2. Warehouse automation robots
Amazon's investment in warehouse automation is remarkable. Currently, Amazon has about 750,000 robots that are responsible for a variety of tasks, from item picking to autonomous operation. These robots not only improve work efficiency, but also reduce labor costs and error rates. Through AI technology, robots are able to more accurately identify items, plan paths, and interact with other robots and systems, enabling fully automated operations. For example, in 2024, Amazon will enable 8 types of robots to work together in the US super warehouse, and the throughput of a single warehouse will increase by 300%, demonstrating its leading position in the field of warehouse automation.
3. Alexa Smart Assistant
Alexa is one of the world's most popular AI products for home use, and its latest upgrade, Alexa+, takes generative AI technology to the next level. Alexa+ not only has a separate app and website, but also supports multi-modal interactions, allowing it to manage and coordinate a range of complex tasks, such as booking an Uber ride or a restaurant seat. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the launch of Alexa+ is an important step for Amazon to upgrade its products with the generative AI revolution. However, the smart speaker market has been under pressure to lose money, and the Alexa team lost $10 billion in 2022. To this end, Amazon hopes to attract more paying users through Alexa+ and reduce the pressure of losses.
Figure: AI is everywhere, and Amazon has deployed 750,000 robots
Technical & Strategic Analysis
1. Comparison between self-developed basic model and open-source model
Vishal Sharma made it clear at the conference that open-source models do not reduce the need for computation as some would expect. On the contrary, Amazon is accelerating the deployment of AI applications in multiple fields through its self-developed foundation model. For example, Amazon's "Bedrock" service allows enterprises and startups to flexibly use a variety of underlying models, including China's DeepSeek model. This open choice strategy not only enhances Amazon's technological competitiveness, but also provides customers with more choices.
2. Investment and cooperation
Amazon's investment and cooperation in the field of AI also provide strong support for its technological development. For example, Amazon invested $8 billion in a partnership with AI startup Anthropic to build a large AI computing cluster based on the Trainium 2 chip. In addition, Elon Musk's xAI also launched Grok 3 and built a huge data center with about 200,000 GPUs in Memphis for training. These collaborations not only enhance Amazon's computing power, but also ensure its continued innovation in the field of AI.
3. Long-term trends in computing resources
When asked if the proliferation of AI computing resources would be a long-term trend, Sharma believes that computing power will remain a central topic of discussion in the future. Amazon's continued investment in computing resources, such as launching high-performance Amazon EC2 P5e instances and building large AI computing clusters, is precisely in response to this trend. Through these initiatives, Amazon is not only able to meet its own business needs, but also to provide customers with more powerful computing support.
Future outlook
1. Continuous innovation of AI technology
Amazon's continuous innovation in the field of AI is not only reflected in the technical level, but also in the continuous upgrading of products and services. For example, the launch of Alexa+ showcases Amazon's technological prowess in the field of generative AI. In the future, Amazon is expected to continue to launch more innovative products and services based on AI to further enhance user experience and market competitiveness.
2. Industry impact and competition
Amazon's presence in the AI field has had a profound impact not only on its own business, but also on the entire industry. As AI technology continues to gain popularity, Amazon will face challenges from competitors such as OpenAI and Google. However, Amazon is expected to maintain its leading position in the fierce market competition through its strategy of independent research and development and open cooperation.
3. Social Implications and Ethical Considerations
The widespread use of AI technology also poses social and ethical challenges. While Amazon is promoting the development of AI technology, it also needs to pay attention to its impact on employment, privacy, and data security. In the future, Amazon is expected to ensure the healthy development of AI technology by developing and complying with relevant ethical guidelines.
Conclusion
Amazon's comprehensive layout and far-reaching influence in the field of AI not only demonstrate its leading position in technological innovation, but also reflect the widespread penetration of AI technology in business operations. Through independent R&D, investment partnerships, and open choice, Amazon has made significant achievements in areas such as cloud computing, warehouse automation, and intelligent assistants. In the future, Amazon is expected to continue to promote the development of AI technology and bring more innovation and value to the industry and society.
