2 days ago
Upstage teams up with AWS for global AI expansion
South Korean AI startup Upstage said it is teaming up with Amazon Web Services to expand into Asia-Pacific and US markets, while enhancing its Solar large language model to make high-performance, low-cost generative AI more accessible.
Under the agreement, Upstage designated AWS as its preferred cloud provider and will use its infrastructure to build, train and deploy foundation models, the company said. It will leverage AWS' machine learning stack — including Amazon SageMaker as well as Trainium and Inferentia chips — to power Solar, and its AI-based document processing suite, Upstage added.
As part of their expanded strategic partnership, Upstage also received a minority equity investment from Amazon, marking the first time the company has attracted direct funding from the US tech giant. The size of the investment was not disclosed.
"We are pleased to support the next stage of Upstage's growth as it expands its Solar foundation model and document intelligence solutions," said Abhijeet Muzumdar, vice president of corporate development at Amazon.
"By backing visionary companies like Upstage, we aim to foster continued innovation in generative AI."
Upstage has long collaborated with AWS, training its Solar model on SageMaker and implementing the proprietary Depth-Up Scaling method on AWS infrastructure to improve performance. Its Solar lineup is currently offered via Amazon Bedrock Marketplace, SageMaker JumpStart and AWS Marketplace, the company explained.
"Upstage and AWS have built a strong foundation through years of collaboration, and this agreement marks a new chapter in our shared vision to accelerate global AI innovation," said Upstage CEO Kim Sung-hoon.
"Through this strategic partnership, we will expand our reach and deliver safe, intelligent and high-performance AI solutions to more public institutions."
The company also said its "AI Initiative," launched in April, is also part of the collaboration with AWS. The program is designed to accelerate the adoption of generative AI by educational institutions and non-profit organizations, with more than 200 institutions, including Seoul National University and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
