Snowflake Secures $6 Billion Deal with AWS for AI CPU Chips
Snowflake has always run on AWS, though it is also available on Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. The new $6 billion, five-year deal is close to all the money it has ever brought in from AWS Marketplace since it was founded in 2012.
Snowflake has sold $7 billion worth of its services via AWS Marketplace total since it was founded in 2012, AWS says.
The growth in spending on AWS is driven by AI, with Snowflake's customers accelerating their spending on AWS. In 2025, Snowflake's customers spent $2 billion on AWS alone, a doubling from the previous year.
AI Driving Growth
Snowflake's AI building tool, Cortex AI, is a key factor in this growth. Cortex AI provides features like a text interface for database queries, summary reports, and more, making it a valuable tool for enterprises.
Snowflake is where much of an enterprise's data lives, making it an ideal platform for AI processing.
Graviton Chips
Snowflake is signing the contract for more access to AWS's home-grown ARM-based CPU chip, Graviton. This chip is designed for AI processing and offers better price-performance compared to Nvidia's offerings.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy last month boasted that Amazon's own homegrown AI chips offer “better price-performance" than Nvidia's offerings.
Chipping Away at Nvidia's Dominance
The deal is a significant blow to Nvidia's dominance in the AI chip market. While Nvidia is still the leader, AWS's multi-billion-dollar cloud deals show how AI is lifting its boat.
- Google has also been making its own AI chips for years, and Microsoft just launched its Maia AI chip in January.
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said last week that he's more than ready to defend, and even grow, his turf.
As AI continues to rise in importance, the cloud providers are getting their share. Snowflake's deal with AWS is just one example of how AI is changing the game.