Amazon AI Shift: Drops Nova Models for Frontier AI Focus

Amazon is winding down active development on several of its Nova AI models, including Nova Premier, Nova Omni, Nova Reel, and Nova Canvas. These models are moving into a maintenance-only "KTLO" mode, meaning they will not receive new features. Instead, Amazon is redirecting engineering talent and computing power to a new Frontier Model Research team. This team is led by AI researcher Pieter Abbeel. The shift follows recent layoffs in Amazon's AGI unit and the closure of its San Francisco AI lab. The first frontier model from this new effort is anticipated around AWS re:Invent in late 2026. This move suggests Amazon is prioritizing a single, powerful model over a broad range of AI offerings. This strategy shift could significantly impact how Amazon competes in the cloud AI market.