Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched a new Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) organization, committing $1 billion in internal resources to help customers build and deploy artificial intelligence systems.
The new unit will embed AI-focused engineers within customer organizations to develop purpose-built AI agents and accelerate implementation.
AWS said the engagements are intended to deliver working systems within weeks while enabling customers to manage and expand them independently.
The $1 billion commitment reflects internal Amazon resources rather than an external investment or joint venture.
The move comes as demand grows for hands-on support with enterprise AI adoption, prompting technology providers to expand deployment services.
"We've had capabilities over the years, but structurally this is like getting everybody together in one business unit with a common rubric of deployment," Francessca Vasquez, AWS vice president of Frontier AI Engineering and Services, said in an interview. "It's the first time we're doing it in that way."
Vasquez said the organization will launch with thousands of forward deployed engineers. Small teams of roughly five or six engineers will work alongside customers' business, engineering and security staff, as well as AI agents capable of completing tasks autonomously.
In a blog post announcing the initiative, AWS said the objective is to leave customers with more than deployed software.
"Customers leave AWS FDE deployments with both new solutions and new engineering capabilities," the company wrote. "Along with agentic systems running in their own AWS environment, they gain lasting AI skills, workflows, and patterns they can use to innovate independently."
The forward deployed engineering model, pioneered by Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR) more than a decade ago, places engineers inside client organizations to tailor deployments while transferring expertise to internal teams.
The approach has gained momentum as companies accelerate AI adoption. Earlier this year, OpenAI (Unlisted:OPAI) and Anthropic launched their own FDE ventures with financial and consulting partners. AWS said its new organization makes it the first hyperscale cloud provider to establish a dedicated forward deployed engineering unit.
"The currency that the customers are always talking about right now is speed," Vasquez said. "We do see FDE being a choice for customers who are looking for accelerated value back to their stakeholders, their customers, their executive teams."