Amazon cuts AI division after failures
The gist
Amazon closed an 80-person San Francisco AGI office and scaled back most Nova AI models.
The retreat raises doubts over whether big AI models pay off.
How it unfolded
- 2024Amazon acquired robotics AI startup Covariant and hired its founders, including Pieter Abbeel.
- January 2026Amazon announced 16,000 corporate job cuts, described as AI- and efficiency-driven.
- July 2026Amazon closed an 80-person AI office in San Francisco specializing in artificial general intelligence research.