Amazon Introduces Program for Climate Action Startups

In an era where climate change continues to batter our world with raging wildfires, floods, and record-breaking temperatures, the Compute for Climate Fellowship emerges as a beacon of hope. The fellowship, powered by The International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) and Amazon Web Services (AWS), invites global climate tech startups to bring their most daring and innovative ideas to the fore, promising a treasure trove of resources to bring these concepts to life.

Participants of the fellowship will be armed with an arsenal of technical resources, including the guidance of experts specializing in AI, sustainability, and ethics, and advanced computing services such as high-performance computing, AI, and machine learning. Furthermore, AWS is stepping in to provide credits to cover the build of these ground-breaking proofs of concept. All these endeavours are designed to align with UNESCO's Ethics Impact Assessment for Artificial Intelligence, ensuring the application of trustworthy and safe technology in every solution.

According to Howard Wright, VP and Global Head of Startups at AWS, "Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our generation and our message to the innovators out there with this program is: bring us your boldest, most visionary ideas and we'll help you build them for free." Both IRCAI and AWS are already trailblazers in the fight against climate change, supporting a wide array of projects, from early-warning systems for food insecurity to remediation of biodiversity loss through Large Language Models. The Fellowship aims to amplify these efforts, championing the innovative ideas of startups to drive sustainability through cloud computing and AI.

Applications for the Compute for Climate Fellowship are open till August 31, 2023, with the potential of selected ideas being showcased at AWS' re:Invent conference in November 2023. Even those startups that are not selected will benefit from the initiative, gaining access to $5,000 in AWS credits, as well as free workshops and training on using AWS Advanced Compute services to build their solutions through the AWS Activate program. It's a rallying cry for startups across the globe – a chance to turn the tide in the climate crisis with their transformative ideas.