Amazon AI chief Rohit Prasad exits as Andy Jassy redraws the company’s AI map

SEATTLE: Amazon is shaking up its artificial intelligence leadership just as the race for scale intensifies. Rohit Prasad, the company’s AI chief and a key architect of Alexa, will leave at the end of the year, triggering a sweeping reorganisation of Amazon’s generative AI ambitions.

In a blog post, chief executive Andy Jassy said Amazon is consolidating its biggest bets generative AI models, custom silicon and quantum computing into a single new organisation. The unit will be led by Peter DeSantis, a 27-year Amazon veteran who currently serves as a senior vice-president in the cloud business.

Prasad joined Amazon in 2013 during Alexa’s formative years and helped turn it from an ambitious experiment into a conversational AI service used by hundreds of millions of customers. Jassy credited him with building a strong team, differentiated technology and growing customer momentum, calling his leadership missionary, passionate and selfless.

The restructuring signals Amazon’s view that it has reached an inflection point. New technologies including proprietary AI models such as Nova, chips such as Graviton, Trainium and Nitro, and longer-term quantum bets are now central to the company’s future customer experience. Bringing them under one roof, Jassy argued, will help Amazon decide where these fast-growing businesses are best placed to maximise long-term value.

The move comes amid Amazon’s broader expansion push, including a $35bn investment plan in India aimed at accelerating digital transformation.

For Amazon, the message is unmistakable. The AI race is no longer about side projects and internal silos. It is about speed, scale and control. Prasad’s exit closes one chapter. The next will be louder, faster and far more consequential.