Mackenzie is the Global Startup Evangelist at AWS. His days are spent traveling the globe to meet startups, share their stories, and connect engineering teams together. Every day there are a large number of startups launching on AWS across every imaginable industry. It’s Mackenzie’s mission to find stories of startups that are helping to improve the world and share these stories with a wide audience.
Learn, compete and innovate in the ultimate AI showdown.
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Participate for prizes, glory, and a chance to advance to the AWS AI League Championship 2025 Finals at AWS re:Invent 2025 Las Vegas.
In this hands-on workshop you’ll compete head-to-head in customizing smarter and more accurate AI models. You’ll tackle real-world challenges as you generate synthetic datasets, experiment with model customization, and fine-tune foundation models to improve accuracy, clarity, and relevance. You’ll learn just how accessible and cost-effective AI customization can be.
Top performers in this session qualify for the AWS AI League Championship Finals to compete for the $25,000 prize pool and Startups have the opportunity to win up to $2.1m in AWS Promotional Credits (awarded to the top 6 startup organizations, not individuals).
Whether you’re chasing the championship or simply sharpening your AI expertise, this session delivers practical, scalable techniques you can apply immediately.
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Prize Pool:
The first winner from San Francisco and New York will each receive:
* A 5-night trip to re:Invent 2025 in Las Vegas (includes: economy flights, $500 spending money, transfers from Las Vegas airport to hotel, 5* hotel accommodation)
* One re:Invent ticket per winner and a place in the AWS AI League final at AWS to compete for the $25,000 prize pool
* Bragging rights & a cool trophy
Regional Prizes (three startup winners per location - NY & SF):
* First Place: $350,000 AWS Credits
* Second Place: $350,000 AWS Credits
* Third Place: $350,000 AWS Credits
* Participation Award: $75 AWS Credits for all attendees
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Eligibility criteria:
* Must be able to attend in person (New York or San Francisco)
* Must be 21 years of age or older
* First place winners must be available for re:Invent (Las Vegas, December 1-5, 2025)
* Participants must bring their own laptop
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By invitation or approval only.
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By registering, you agree to follow the AWS Community Codes of Conduct and agree to the AWS Event Terms and Conditions.