AWS mulls selling its Trainium AI chips to external customers, competing with Nvidia

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is exploring the possibility of selling its in-house artificial intelligence chips, known as Trainium, to external customers. This move could position the cloud computing giant as a more direct competitor to Nvidia, which currently dominates the market for AI infrastructure.

In an interview with Bloomberg, AWS Senior Vice President Peter DeSantis stated that the company is in discussions about offering Trainium chips for use in data centres outside of AWS. The company has historically not sold its custom chips directly, but that stance may be changing.

AWS spokesperson Doron Aronson confirmed to TechCrunch that the company is open to the idea of selling chips in the future. While no final decision has been made, Aronson noted that the possibility remains under consideration.

Trainium chips are designed specifically for training large-scale AI models, a task that currently requires significant computing power. Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) have been the standard for such workloads, but AWS aims to provide an alternative that may offer better performance or cost efficiency for certain tasks.

The potential entry of AWS into the chip market for external customers could increase competition and potentially lower costs for AI developers. However, experts caution that breaking into the market will be challenging, given Nvidia's strong ecosystem and software stack.

This development comes as cloud providers seek to reduce dependence on external chip suppliers and offer tailored solutions to their customers. Amazon has been developing its own chips for years, including Graviton processors for general computing and Inferentia chips for AI inference.

The move to sell chips externally would represent a shift in strategy for AWS, which has primarily focused on selling cloud services, not hardware. If successful, it could allow AWS to capture more value from its silicon investments and provide customers with more options for AI workloads.

Analysts note that the market for AI chips is growing rapidly, driven by demand from enterprises and research institutions. Nvidia's revenue has skyrocketed as a result, prompting competitors to accelerate their own chip development. AWS's Trainium chips, if made widely available, could become a significant player in this space.

As of now, AWS has not announced a timeline for any potential external sales of Trainium chips. The company is likely evaluating demand, pricing, and supply chain considerations before making a final decision.