Amazon’s AWS Loses Generative AI Vice President Amid Talent War
Amazon’s AWS division has lost its vice president overseeing generative artificial intelligence development, Vasi Philomin, as the competition for AI talent intensifies. Philomin announced his departure from Amazon in an email to Reuters, though he didn’t disclose his new employer. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed that Philomin left after eight years with the company.
During his tenure, Philomin played a crucial role in leading generative AI efforts and product strategy. He oversaw the development of foundation models known as Amazon Titan and helped create Amazon Bedrock, a hub for using multiple AI models. Bedrock is one of AWS’s premier products in its battle for AI supremacy.
Amazon is working to bolster its reputation in AI development, following rivals like OpenAI and Google that have taken an early lead, particularly with consumer-focused models. The company has invested $8 billion in AI startup Anthropic and integrated its Claude software into its own products, including a revamped version of voice assistant Alexa.
The AI talent competition has led to creative hiring techniques, including using sports industry data analysis to identify undiscovered talent. This has resulted in skyrocketing compensation for top AI professionals. However, Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy warned in a recent memo that the company’s success in AI will likely lead to fewer corporate jobs, particularly with the development of ‘agentic AI’ that can perform tasks with minimal human input.
“As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done. We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today and more people doing other types of jobs,” Jassy wrote.
Rajesh Sheth, previously vice president overseeing Amazon Elastic Block Store, has taken over some of Philomin’s responsibilities. Amazon continues to innovate in AI, having introduced its Nova AI models in December for text, video, and image generation, and later adding a version called Sonic for natural-sounding speech.
