Amazon Web Services (AWS), a global cloud provider hit by Iran's Revolutionary Guard in the Middle East war, said it has activated a 24/7 response posture to maintain local infrastructure. AWS also said it intends to continue investing in the Middle East.
Matt Garman, CEO of AWS, said in an interview with U.S. business network CNBC on July 7 at the "HumanX" artificial intelligence (AI) conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco that the current situation in the Middle East is "really difficult, and we are working incredibly hard."
Garman said, "We are running teams 24 hours a day, seven days a week so we can keep the infrastructure operating for customers in the region."
Regarding the war, Garman said it "is causing enormous disruption to the global economy. It's not just a short-term and immediate issue but a factor that is holding the global economy back."
AWS data centers in the Middle East have become primary targets of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. As a result, dozens of AWS facilities located in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are currently unavailable.
Even so, Garman signaled a commitment to long-term investment in the Middle East. He said of the region, "There is fantastic entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to invest. Our intention to invest there for the long term is stronger than ever."
Garman also argued at the HumanX talk that the AI bubble narrative is overstated. "We are still in the early days," he said, adding, "Frankly, even if we applied only the technology we have today to business, we could realize years' worth of improvements."
Citing the early-2000s "internet (dot-com) bubble" as an example, he emphasized, "The bubble burst, but the internet is still enormous in scale," and "not every AI company will succeed, but the technology itself will remain."
He did not agree with the view that software-as-a-service (SaaS) corporations are in crisis due to AI advances, but warned that neglecting innovation could put them at risk.
At the same time, he said it is "Director" to say, "Just write Claude code (an AI agent) and build it. That's not how it works," but added, "If existing corporations only protect what they have and do not step up to innovate, they will find themselves in trouble."
On the other hand, he said, "If they actively embrace AI, consider new business models, and pursue opportunities, it will instead be a chance for existing software corporations to expand their business."
He also addressed AWS investing in both OpenAI and Anthropic, which compete with it, saying, "I don't think any field is a winner-takes-all market," and "customers will want a secure platform that can integrate a rich set of tools and guardrails, security features, first-party models, and third-party models."