Amazon refocuses AI strategy on frontier model, scales back Nova series

Amazon is overhauling its artificial‑intelligence roadmap by winding down several self‑developed models and consolidating engineering talent around a single new initiative, Frontier Model Research (FMR). The shift follows recent layoffs in the AGI division and the shutdown of the AGI Lab that was created after the 2024 acquisition of the robotics startup Adept. Senior research staff, including Pieter Abbeel, now lead FMR, which aims to deliver a next‑generation flagship foundation model slated for a debut at the AWS re:Invent conference this fall.

The company is moving most of its Nova series—Premier, Omni, Reel and Canvas—into a "keep‑the‑lights‑on" maintenance mode, while retaining a reduced portfolio of Nova 2 Sonic, Nova 2 Lite, the Nova Forge customization service, and the Nova Act AI‑agent technology. The restructuring also places the AI unit under senior vice‑president Peter DeSantis, aligning it with Amazon’s chip and quantum‑computing groups. A spokesperson said Amazon will continue to support existing models that customers rely on, but the priority now is the development of the new frontier model.