Amazon confirmed on June 18, 2026, that it is in talks to sell its custom-built Trainium AI accelerator chips for use in third-party data centers across the US and beyond [1, 2, 3]. Peter DeSantis, Amazon’s AI chief, acknowledged the ongoing discussions but declined to name any prospective buyers, saying, "We view AI infrastructure as rapidly evolving. And we’re constantly looking at ways to get to more customers" [1].

The Trainium chip was first introduced by Amazon in 2020 and has been used primarily within Amazon Web Services (AWS). High-profile clients like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Uber currently use Trainium via AWS cloud contracts [1]. This marks a shift as Amazon looks to directly sell hardware to external data center operators.

Earlier this year, Amazon began shipping the third generation of Trainium chips, which reportedly sold out quickly due to strong demand. Interest is growing for a fourth version expected in the near future [1, 2]. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wrote in an April 2026 shareholder letter that selling racks of Trainium chips to third parties is "quite possible." He estimated the annual run rate of chip sales, if expanded beyond AWS, could reach about $50 billion. "If our chips business was a standalone business... our annual run rate would be ~$50 billion," Jassy said [1, 2].

Trainium sales commitments have exceeded $225 billion as of April 2026, reflecting the chip's traction within Amazon’s growing AI infrastructure business [1]. The rise of AI workloads after breakthroughs like ChatGPT has prompted Amazon and competitors to develop alternatives to Nvidia GPUs, challenging the dominant player in AI hardware [1, 2].

Amazon’s AI chip business strategy also responds to demand for local and sovereign control over computing resources, especially in Europe. DeSantis noted, however, that AWS has not been affected by European moves to reduce reliance on US technology [1].

The confirmed talks represent a significant expansion of Amazon’s chip business beyond its own cloud offering. The company’s next major challenge will be meeting demand for the upcoming fourth generation of Trainium chips. Amazon’s developments in AI hardware will be closely watched by industry players and customers alike.

Amazon has not announced any dates for potential sales agreements or broader commercial availability beyond AWS as of June 18, 2026 [1, 2, 3].