Launch of an accelerator program for startups using Generative AI by AWS and Accel

ML Elevate 2023 is an accelerator program assisting start-ups developing generative artificial intelligence (AI) products. It was launched by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and venture capital company Accel.

According to a press release, the six-week program will give generative AI start-ups access to AI models and tools, technical and business mentoring, curated resources, the AWS Activate program, and up to $200,000 in AWS Credits. AWS Activate is a program that offers resources, technical assistance, and credits to start-ups so they may develop and expand their businesses using Amazon Web Services.

Other advantages include the chance to scale production-ready generative AI apps on Amazon SageMaker JumpStart and peer assistance from a network of AI and ML start-up founders. The SageMaker program offers a selection of pre-built solutions, templates, and resources adapted to certain use cases in order to streamline and accelerate the process of developing and deploying machine learning models.

Applications for the program are accepted from generative AI start-ups that have a minimal viable product (MVP) ready and intend to seek investment in the next 12 to 18 months. Selected startups will participate in live virtual master classes, fireside chats, and panels with investors, business titans, and AWS specialists. Anupam Datta, Co-Founder, President, and Chief Scientist, TruEra (USA), Tom Mason, Chief Technology Officer, Stability AI; Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, Asia-South, NVIDIA Graphics; Poonacha Kongetira, SVP Engineering at SambaNova (US); and Apurva Kalia, Senior Researcher, Tufts University (USA) are on the panel of speakers. Through a dedicated demo week, the cohort will also get the chance to pitch top venture capital firms, angel investors, and business titans in order to raise money.

“Generative AI signals the dawn of a new era of productivity and innovation across all walks of life. In LLMs, LLMOps, ML models, and GPU compute, innovation is occurring at an ever-increasing rate. For business owners and start-ups developing in the field of generative AI, ML Elevate presents a significant potential. Prayank Swaroop, Partner, Accel, adds, “We are looking forward to working with AWS and chosen start-ups this year as well. It was amazing to partner on ML Elevate last year.

Since 2020, around 50 early-stage AI/ML start-ups in India have taken part in the ML Elevate initiatives, including AarogyaAI, Dubdub.ai, Vitra.ai, and NimbleBox.ai, among other Indian AI start-ups.

In the period between January 2021 and May 2023, generative AI start-ups in the nation raised over $475 million in private financing, according to a recent report by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). According to Vaishali Kasture, Director of AWS India and South Asia at Amazon Web Services India, ML Elevate will give start-ups in the industry the tools they need to create solutions that are industry-specific and encourage creativity to power the digital economy.