Amazon Snares Uber Cloud Deal in Blow to Oracle and Google
Uber expands its AWS contract to use custom Graviton and Trainium chips, signaling a shift away from sole reliance on Oracle and Google cloud services.
Amazon Captures Key Workloads from Oracle and Google as Uber Diversifies Infrastructure
In a strategic victory for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Uber has announced a significant expansion of its partnership with the retail giant's cloud division. The ride-sharing leader is moving more of its core features onto Amazon’s custom-designed silicon, signaling a competitive shift in the cloud wars between AWS, Oracle, and Google.
The deal centers on Uber’s increased adoption of AWS Graviton, a high-efficiency, ARM-based server CPU. Furthermore, Uber will begin testing Trainium3, Amazon’s latest proprietary chip designed to compete directly with Nvidia’s dominant AI hardware.
A Pivot from Oracle and Google
This announcement is particularly pointed given Uber’s recent infrastructure history. In early 2023, Uber famously signed long-term, multi-year cloud agreements with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The goal was to migrate the majority of its IT operations away from legacy on-premise data centers.
As recently as December, Uber had publicly praised Oracle’s use of ARM chips produced by Ampere. However, Amazon’s ability to lure Uber toward its own in-house silicon suggests that AWS’s vertical integration (designing the hardware specifically for the cloud environment) is becoming a decisive factor for enterprise clients.
In a strategic victory for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Uber has announced a significant expansion of its partnership with the retail giant's cloud division.
The Silicon Valley Entanglement: The Ampere Connection
The shift also highlights the dramatic corporate shifts surrounding Ampere, the company that previously powered Uber’s ARM workloads at Oracle. Founded by former Intel executive Renee James, Ampere was heavily backed by Oracle, which owned roughly one-third of the company.
The landscape changed significantly in late 2024:
- Softbank acquired Ampere in December.
- Oracle sold its stake, netting a $2.7 billion pre-tax gain.
- Renee James stepped down from Oracle’s board and exited Ampere.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison recently stated that Oracle no longer views in-house chip design as a competitive advantage, preferring instead to purchase hardware through massive deals with Nvidia. This stands in direct contrast to Amazon’s strategy, which continues to double down on internal hardware innovation.
Amazon’s Multi-Billion Dollar Silicon Business
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy revealed in December that the Trainium line has already evolved into a multi-billion dollar business. By securing more business from Uber, AWS joins an elite roster of clients (including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Apple) that have deepened their reliance on Amazon’s AI chips to optimize performance and mitigate costs.
As the race to build massive AI data centers intensifies, Uber’s decision to diversify its cloud spend back toward AWS suggests that the "circular" ecosystem of tech deals remains fluid. While Oracle and Google focus on high-profile AI partnerships and third-party hardware, Amazon is proving that controlling the chip design can still win over the industry's biggest spenders.
