June 13 (Reuters) - Amazon ( AMZN ) said it is investing

$230 million in the form of Amazon Web Service (AWS) credits in

artificial intelligence startups, the latest example of cloud

providers trying to capture AI clients from nascent stages.

The credits will provide early-stage generative AI startups

free access to computing power, a variety of AI models, and

infrastructure, if they build their companies on AWS.

Amazon ( AMZN ) says it already offers $1 billion in cloud credits

every year to startups, with this new commitment focusing on

supporting generative AI startups.

"They'll be able to iterate very quickly and pivot very

quickly as necessary. Then ultimately, when they hit on that

home run, they'll be able to double down and get to the scale

with security, responsibility and consistency," said Matt Wood,

vice president of AI Products at AWS.

Part of the credits will also support 80 early-stage

companies globally through the AWS Generative AI Accelerator

program, the company said. Each startup admitted to the

accelerator could receive up to $1 million in AWS credits.

It's common for cloud providers, from Microsoft Azure

to Google Cloud, to offer credits to lure

enterprises to use their services, as cloud costs can pile up

for a company as their usage increases.

Earlier this year, Amazon ( AMZN ) has expanded its cloud credits to

cover the use of models from providers such as Anthropic, Meta

, Mistral AI, and Cohere, as the company aims to boost

the market share of its AI platform.

AI demand has driven up the usage of cloud services,

contributing to the accelerated growth of cloud providers. For

instance, AWS's revenue rose by 17% to $9.42 billion in the

first quarter, surpassing analyst expectations. The investment

by tech giants in AI startups have also attracted attention from

regulators over antitrust concerns.

Howard Wright, global head of Startups at AWS who

managed startups relationships, recently left the company,

according to people familiar with the move. Amazon ( AMZN ) declined to

comment on the move.

(Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York; Editing by Lincoln

Feast.)