Meta and Amazon Web Services just launched a new startup support program. Thirty US startups will get six months of engineering help from both companies plus $200,000 in AWS cloud credits each. The goal: build AI tools using Meta’s open-source Llama model.
The partnership debuts at the AWS Summit in NYC this week. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is doubling down on AI with a new super intelligence team and a $14.3 billion investment in AI startup Scale. Amazon’s $6 million-plus backing bets startups will keep using AWS to run Llama after the credits run out.
Startups apply now. Selection happens later this summer, based on solution potential and team skills, AWS and Meta said. 
AWS VP Jon Jones told CNN:
“We have a long-standing relationship and partnership with Meta, and what we’re aiming to do here with the Llama collaboration is really empower founders to build transformative AI using Llama models.”
Jones says AWS customers already use Llama for AI customer management in auto sales and fintech.
Meta pushes open source. Zuckerberg said last year:
“Open source is necessary for a positive AI future.”
He wants Llama to be the platform for developers building chatbots and AI apps — competing with closed-source rivals like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
With the AWS credits and joint support, Meta and AWS hope to give startups practical perks usually tied to closed-source AI: technical support, friendly interfaces, and cloud power.
Meta’s AI partnerships VP Ash Jhaveri added:
“We developed Llama because we believe greater access to powerful models is essential for driving progress in AI. Startups are some of the most creative forces in tech, and we’re looking forward to seeing how they’ll use Llama to push boundaries, explore new frontiers, and shape the future of AI in bold and unexpected ways.”
