Robots invite guests to Amazon AI Pop-Up space

(TNS) — If you happen to spot tiny robots milling around San Francisco’s Financial District, they’re there — of course — to promote artificial intelligence. E-commerce giant Amazon is opening a showroom on lower Market Street to showcase its efforts in artificial intelligence and robotics, and Amazon’s four-wheeled robots are a preview of the technological marvels inside.

The so-called GenAI loft is one of several such pop-up spaces that Amazon has opened in the U.S. and around the world. The idea is to attract startups, tech developers, investors, the general public and a bit of media attention to the space to showcase the company’s work in artificial intelligence—everything from chatbots that help Amazon shoppers learn more about products to professional software tools for developers made available through Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud computing offering.

The opening comes at a “moment when people are just learning how to use AI,” said Amazon Web Services Vice President of Developer Experience Adam Seligman. While developers and entrepreneurs will have freedom to roam the space, it will also host free and open events, he said.

Another such loft has already debuted in Bengaluru, India, and further openings are planned in São Paulo, London, Paris and Seoul within the year.

The company said the pop-ups are “designed to foster community and innovation among AI startups and developers.” To that end, the San Francisco launch is set to feature robot-created paintings and AI-generated artwork by artist Claire Silver.

The opening will also feature interactive hologram shows and lectures on artificial intelligence technology. The space is set to remain open until mid-October.

Among the tech giants, Microsoft, Google, and Meta have gained more media attention for creating their own families of AI chatbots and image generators. Amazon has taken a different tack, making AI language models available through its AWS cloud service, which users can use to build their own chatbots.

The e-commerce giant also invested $4 billion in OpenAI competitor Anthropic, another leading San Francisco-based company that builds large AI models and chatbots.

Seligman said Anthropic is partnering with Amazon to host future events in the Market Street space.

Amazon is the latest company to leave its mark on San Francisco’s AI-saturated downtown. Last year, Microsoft, a lead investor in OpenAI, opened a “Co-Innovation Lab” to give startups and investors access to its AI technology.

Unlike Amazon’s pop-up, Microsoft’s lab is permanent, but the company also keeps it closed to the media and public. Microsoft has opened similar facilities in Redmond, Washington, as well as in Munich, Shanghai and Montevideo, Uruguay.

It’s not just tech giants that are making their presence felt in the city that has become the world capital of artificial intelligence innovation.

The UK government has chosen San Francisco as the first overseas home for its Artificial Intelligence Security Institute, partly to capitalise on the technology talent in the city and region.

The Italian government also runs a tech accelerator for Italian startups called INNOVIT, which is located near the Jackson Square neighborhood.