Amazon Web Services has announced the launch of applications for the third cohort of its AWS Generative AI Accelerator (GAIA), an eight-week global program aimed at scaling early-stage startups building foundational generative AI technologies.
Applications opened on June 10 and will remain open until July 10. The selected 40 startups from across the globe will be announced on September 24, with the program officially kicking off on October 13, 2025, at Amazon HQ1 in Seattle.
The 2025 edition of the accelerator will award each selected company up to $1 million in AWS credits, alongside access to technical mentorship, enterprise-grade tools, go-to-market support, and AWS’s full generative AI tech stack. The program is designed for startups that are building core generative AI components such as large language models, fine-tuning platforms, agentic workflows, and infrastructure tooling.
“We are now at a stage where virtually all startups will be applying generative AI to their business in one shape or form. That’s why for this year’s accelerator, we are honing our focus to support those startups developing the foundational technologies that will define what’s possible with AI,” said Jon Jones, VP and Global Head of Startups at AWS. “This year’s program is part of our continued commitment to accelerate generative AI innovation around the world by providing ground-breaking startups with the credits, mentorship, and visibility they need to scale with confidence.”
The accelerator will run as a hybrid program, featuring virtual sessions alongside in-person events. It begins at Amazon HQ in Seattle and concludes at AWS re:Invent 2025. To qualify, startups should have a functional Minimum Viable Product (MVP), early customer traction, and a strong technical team. Prior AWS experience is not required, but startups already building on AWS will gain added benefits from architecture support and marketplace enablement.
Past participants have highlighted the program’s impact on their technical and commercial growth.
“At Latent Labs, we are building AI foundation models to make biology programmable and accelerate and improve drug discovery. The AWS Generative AI Accelerator offered us a unique blend of technical depth and commercial reach, which was instrumental in accelerating both our platform capabilities and our market adoption,” said Simon Kohl, CEO and founder of Latent Labs, which participated in the 2024 cohort. “AWS moves quickly to adapt to the fast-evolving generative AI landscape, not just with infrastructure and tooling, but with programs designed to help generative AI startups scale. As a founder, you gain access to an ecosystem that understands both the demands of building cutting-edge AI systems and the importance of aligning those systems with real-world customer needs.”
Tracy Chan, CEO of Splash Music, also praised the program: “At Splash Music, we’re reimagining how music is created and discovered, transforming it from a background activity into the interactive, expressive experience Gen Z consumers connect with. The AWS accelerator was a game-changer for us. It gave us early access to cutting-edge AWS tools like SageMaker HyperPod and Trainium, plus hands-on support to migrate our models from a previous provider, significantly accelerating our research velocity and model performance. Beyond the tech, AWS’s support with go-to-market strategy, public exposure, and hiring world-class talent helped us hit milestones faster than planned. For any startup building, GAIA is a no-brainer.”
The 2025 cohort will include startups from North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific and Japan regions. AWS aims to promote global inclusion while offering tailored mentorship across different verticals, including infrastructure, foundational model development, and application-level innovation.
Startups can apply here.
