Amazon‘s $38 billion cloud deal with OpenAI marks a major endorsement for the e-commerce giant’s cloud business after recent setbacks, including ceding market share to rivals and an outage that disrupted large parts of the internet.
Amazon logo outside an Amazon warehouse in Manchester, Britain, October 28, 2025 – REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
After years of leading the cloud computing industry with its highly profitable Amazon Web Services (AWS) business, Amazon has watched Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google snatch big-ticket contracts with their AI-steeped clouds. Its lead in the cloud market slipped to 29% as of September, from 34% a few months before ChatGPT was launched in 2022, according to data from Synergy Research Group.
Amazon was considered a laggard in the AI race by many investors because it was late to launch a flagship large language model and for failing to offer a consumer-facing chatbot like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Recently, though, the company has ramped up spending on its AI efforts, and last month opened an $11 billion AI data centre in Indiana called Project Rainier, where startup Anthropic’s models are being trained using Amazon’s own Trainium chips.
Monday’s deal with OpenAI, a marquee customer, coupled with strong quarterly results last, suggests AWS is regaining momentum, analysts and investors said.
“While it is small relative to other deals OpenAI has made with other cloud providers, it represents a key first step in Amazon’s effort to partner with a company that is spending over a trillion dollars on computing power in the coming years,” said Mamta Valechha, analyst at Quilter Cheviot.
Amazon’s stock rose 5% after the deal to a record high after it traded little changed for most of the year, lagging the gains seen in other Big Tech stock that have surged on cloud-computing deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars with AI startups.
Microsoft last week disclosed a $250 billion OpenAI commitment for its Azure cloud services under a new arrangement that allowed OpenAI to restructure itself, while Oracle has signed a $300 billion deal with the startup. Google has a chip agreement worth tens of billions with Anthropic among other AI tie-ups.
Amazon’s efforts have in part been hampered by executive losses. A key vice president helping oversee generative AI development left for another company, Reuters reported in June. To stay competitive and fund the costly data centres needed to support the technology, CEO Andy Jassy has tried to cut through management layers and even installed an anonymous complaint line for identifying inefficiencies.
The company said last week it would reduce its corporate workforce by about 14,000 in one of its biggest layoffs. It is also spending more on AI, with its capital expenditure expected to total around $125 billion this year and more the year after. That is more than Alphabet’s planned outlay of up to $93 billion, and roughly in-line with what Wall Street expects Microsoft to spend this year.
Analysts said the OpenAI deal offers a credible path for Amazon to recoup its spending. Brian Pitz, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, estimates that this may boost AWS’s backlog by about 20% in the fourth quarter ending December, from $200 billion as of September end.
“It clearly seems like they (Amazon) are finally in the flow of what is happening with these large language models versus before,” said William Lee, an investor at SuRo Capital that holds equity in OpenAI.
Monica Vinader has chosen English singer/songwriter Sienna Spiro as the face of the aspirational, ambitious premium jewellery brand.
Sienna Spiro
The “meaningful collaboration” links the jewellery brand “known for its design integrity and exceptional quality” to “one of music’s most compelling emerging voices… with her lyrics rooted in feeling and intention, qualities that closely align with Monica Vinader’s approach to design”, we’re told.
Throughout the campaign, Spiro wears the new Infinity collections as well as Monica Vinader pieces engraved with lyrics from her song ‘You Stole the Show’.
The engravings spotlight the brand’s personalisation services, “transforming jewellery into objects of meaning, from song lyrics and private messages to personal mantras”, the retailer said.
The brand, which has several stores in London, plus stores at Liverpool One, in Manchester and Edinburgh, appointed a new CEO in November. Sebastian Picardo now heads the previously family-run brand founded by siblings Monica (artistic director) and Gabriela (non-exec director) in 2008.
At the time of his appointment, the sisters said Picardo is “perfectly placed to guide our next phase of growth” and will work to accelerate the business’s global reach, “scaling innovation, inspiring existing and new audiences, and setting new standards for modern luxury jewellery”.
Scottish gymwear brand Dfyne has opening a 21,623 sq ft headquarters in Glasgow that “marks a major milestone in the company’s growth just four years after launch”, it said.
Dfyne
Designed in collaboration with workplace designer/builder Oktra, the new HQ provides a permanent base for Dfyne’s growing team and “reflects the brand’s ambition, identity, and people-first values.. as the business continues to grow”.
The opening marks ‘phase one’ of the project, with further phases planned to extend the workspace and complete the ground floor fit-out, it said.
The workplace is organised around a series of “clearly defined zones, balancing focused workspaces with informal collaboration areas and spaces to showcase Dfyne products”.
“Cultural storytelling” is also embedded within the design. Brown leather seating in the new meeting booths references a brown leather sofa from Dfyne’s original headquarters – a piece closely associated with the brand’s early days and formative moments.
“This detail symbolises [our] journey from a small founding team to a fast-growing international brand, while maintaining a strong connection to its roots”, it said.
CEO Oscar Ryndziewicz added: “In only four years, and thanks to our incredible community, we’ve grown to such a level that we can create a new, tailor-made space for our team that embodies our brand values. With the creation of unique workspaces, our new HQ is purposefully designed to enable everyone who supported the company’s growth to spark connections and inspire innovation.”
Puma is continuing its fruitful fashion-meets-sport collab with UK streetwear brand Represent, this time “rewriting the playbook of basketball-inspired staples”.
Puma x Represent
Fusing “Heritage Hoops Energy with Modern Streetwear”, it brings the two brands neatly together with a campaign fronted by German NBA star Dennis Schröder who “embodies the collection’s balanced fusion of court performance and off-court style”.
The “simple yet elevated collection” spans footwear and apparel that’s “highlighted by expressive and detailed cut-and-sew designs”, as well as a fresh interpretation of Puma’s All-Pro Nitro 2 sneaker.
Its “court-ready” Jersey and Shorts debut comes with a newly designed Puma x Represent graphic, featuring mesh construction and contrasting trim “that nods to retro game-day uniforms”.
The range is, of course, accompanied by “courtside essentials” including a Graphic T-Shirt and Hoodie, “pieces that bring bold visual detailing to the championship collaboration”.
A Coach Jacket and accompanying Pants also “comprise comfortable warm-up layers with everyday wearability”.
For footwear, Puma x Represent presents a re-envision All-Pro Nitro 2, a performance design underpinned by “explosive Nitro cushioning and a lightweight Ultraweave upper”. The black and white two-tone colourway is punctuated by subtle logo hits on the heel and tongue.
Complementing one of Puma’s “most modern examples of basketball performance technology”, the collection brings “a touch of ‘80s flair with the low-top Majesty”.
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