Amazon Web Services invests $1 billion into a new AI unit to embed thousands of engineers directly with customers to …

Amazon is following the leading AI labs OpenAI and Anthropic as the company’s cloud unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) announces that it is investing $1 billion in a new Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) unit that will help its customers build and roll out artificial intelligence (AI) systems. For those unaware, Forward Deployed Engineer, or an FDE, is an employee who is embedded directly within a different business to try and accelerate a technical transformation. The term coined by the defense contractor Palantir almost 10 years ago has gained prominence among software companies as they look to boost adoption by taking talent directly into clients’ facilities. OpenAI and Anthropic, announced their own FDE companies earlier this year. Amazon, which is the top cloud provider by revenue, is the first hyperscaler to announce this kind of initiative.