Amazon CEO criticises Nvidia, Intel, Starlink and others in annual shareholder letter

Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon, used his latest annual shareholder letter to deliver a pointed and wide-ranging critique of several major competitors, including Nvidia, Intel, and satellite internet rivals like Starlink — though in a measured, corporate tone rather than a confrontational one.

The letter blends personal reflections with competitive positioning, offering glimpses into Jassy’s early ambitions, such as becoming a sportscaster, alongside commentary on Amazon’s strategy and rivals.

Rather than openly attacking competitors, Jassy framed his arguments more subtly. Speaking about Nvidia, he acknowledged the ongoing partnership, stating that Amazon will continue to support customers who rely on Nvidia’s chips. At the same time, he emphasised a shift underway in the AI industry, noting that while most AI workloads have historically run on Nvidia hardware, demand is growing for alternatives with better price-to-performance ratios — particularly Amazon’s Trainium chips.

According to Jassy, demand for Amazon’s Trainium chips has surged significantly. Capacity for the upcoming Trainium3 is nearly sold out, and even Trainium4 — which is still around 18 months from release — is already close to being fully booked. He added that Amazon’s internal chip business has reached an annual revenue run rate of $20 billion and suggested that, if it operated as an external chip supplier, it could reach $50 billion annually.

Despite this growth, Nvidia remains far ahead, having generated over $215 billion in revenue last year. Still, Jassy positioned Amazon’s chips as an emerging challenger in the AI hardware space.

Intel was also a target of comparison. Jassy highlighted the success of Amazon’s Graviton CPUs, which compete with Intel’s traditional x86 architecture. He stated that 98% of the top 1,000 EC2 customers now use Graviton, indicating widespread adoption among large enterprises. He also revealed that some customers have requested to purchase all available Graviton capacity for 2026, though Amazon declined due to broader demand across its customer base.

Jassy also touched on Amazon’s satellite internet ambitions through Project Kuiper, which the letter refers to as Amazon Leo, positioning it as a competitor to Starlink. He noted that the project, expected to launch in mid-2026, has already secured contracts with major organisations, including Delta Air Lines, AT&T, Vodafone, Australia’s National Broadband Network, and NASA.

Beyond infrastructure and hardware, Jassy hinted at future opportunities in robotics. With over one million robots already operating in Amazon warehouses, he suggested that the company could eventually turn its robotics expertise into commercial products for industrial and consumer use. The idea of Amazon entering the humanoid robotics space was left open-ended.

The letter also served as a defence of Amazon’s aggressive capital spending plans. Jassy reiterated the company’s intention to invest approximately $200 billion in capital expenditures in 2026, primarily to expand AWS data centre capacity. This figure exceeds the planned spending of other major tech companies.

To justify this scale of investment, Jassy pointed to long-term agreements with customers. He cited a deal with OpenAI that includes a commitment to spend $100 billion on AWS services, while also noting that several additional agreements, either completed or in progress, are expected to drive demand for Amazon’s infrastructure.

The CEO acknowledged the ongoing public debate around whether the AI boom is overhyped or forming a market bubble. However, he made it clear that Amazon does not share that concern, arguing that its investment strategy is based on strong customer demand rather than speculation.

While the tone of the letter remains measured, Jassy’s message is clear: Amazon sees itself not just as a participant in the AI and cloud race, but as a major force shaping its future direction.