Amazon CEO Outlines $200B AI Investment Plans

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy outlined ambitious plans for artificial intelligence investments in his annual letter to shareholders released Thursday, revealing that the company's cloud unit generated more than $15 billion in annualized revenue from AI services in the first quarter of 2026. The disclosure marks the first time Amazon has quantified its direct financial returns from AI efforts, underscoring the technology's rapid integration across its operations.

Jassy emphasized that AI adoption is accelerating faster than any prior technology, positioning Amazon Web Services, or AWS, at the center of surging demand. He noted that AWS's overall revenue run rate reached $142 billion in the final quarter of 2025, with AI contributing about 10 percent of that figure. The unit reported $129 billion in full-year 2025 revenue, a 20 percent increase from 2024, including $35.58 billion in the fourth quarter alone, its strongest growth in 13 quarters at 24 percent year over year. Amazon's total revenue for 2025 climbed 12 percent to $717 billion, while operating income rose 17 percent to $80 billion.

A highlight of the letter was the performance of Amazon's custom chip business, encompassing...