Amazon Winds Down Most of Its Nova AI Models
Amazon is winding down most of its Nova AI models to bet on a single frontier model.
Background
July 30, 2026 - 6:17 pm
Image by: Amazon
Amazon is deprecating most of its flagship Nova AI models, including Premier, Omni, Reel, and Canvas. This includes withdrawing support for these models in active development. Some employees refer to this as “KTLO” mode, short for “keep the lights on.” While existing customers can still use these models, they are no longer a priority.
This follows Amazon’s:
- Shutting down its AGI Lab
- Quitting the race in Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
that was reported months ago.
Shift in Strategy
Resources are being reallocated to Frontier Model Research (FMR), led by Pieter Abbeel, who joined Amazon via the acquisition of robotics startup Covariant. A new flagship model is expected to be unveiled at Amazon’s re:Invent conference this autumn, potentially still under the Nova brand.
Logic Behind the Move
Under previous AI chief Rohit Prasad, Amazon developed models for text, images, and video. Peter DeSantis, who took over in December, has focused talent and compute resources on fewer, more promising "frontier" bets. Key figures like Prasad (left at the end of 2025) and AGI Lab founder David Luan (departed in February) have left the company.
Amazon’s Continued Involvement
While Nova itself is winding down, Amazon will continue to support:
- Nova 2 Lite
- Nova 2 Sonic
- The Nova Forge customization service
- The Nova Act agent tool
The San Francisco AGI site, a 80-person research group, has closed, according to GeekWire.
Amazon’s Competitive Advantage
Amazon never established Nova as a household name like OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google. Its models were also expensive to run, facing competition from cheaper alternatives. This shift aligns with Amazon’s focus on its core strength: infrastructure. AWS provides hosting for many AI models—with commitments worth billions from OpenAI and Anthropic—and has its own custom Trainium chips, a multi-billion dollar business.
Official Statement
An Amazon spokesperson disagreed with the notion of a retreat:
"AI models remain one of the most important things we’re working on, and that hasn’t changed. We continually evolve our lineup to meet customer needs."
However, the question remains: can Nova truly compete in an increasingly crowded market?