Amazon Overhauls its AI Strategy, Winding Down Most Flagship NOVA Models - Business Insider

Business Insider reports $AMZN is overhauling its AI strategy by winding down much of its flagship Nova lineup and concentrating engineers and computing resources on a smaller number of frontier-model efforts. Amazon has reportedly begun deprecating Nova Premier, Omni, Reel, and Canvas. Employees described some models as being in “keep the lights on” mode, meaning they will remain supported for existing customers but are no longer major development priorities. Resources are increasingly moving toward Frontier Model Research, led by Pieter Abbeel. He joined Amazon through its acquisition of AI robotics startup Covariant. FMR has become a top priority and is developing a new flagship foundation model expected to debut at this year’s re conference. The shift follows layoffs in Amazon’s AGI organization and the shutdown of AGI Lab, the long-term research group created after Amazon hired key leaders from Adept. The broader AGI organization now sits under SVP Peter DeSantis, who also oversees Amazon’s custom-silicon and quantum-computing teams. Amazon is not abandoning Nova entirely. Nova 2 Sonic, Nova 2 Lite, Nova Forge, and Nova Act remain active, while the new FMR model could also launch under the Nova brand. An Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider that AI models remain among the company’s most important priorities. The spokesperson added that Amazon will continue supporting models customers rely on while providing guidance and migration paths as its lineup evolves.