Amazon is in talks to sell its custom-made Trainium AI chips for use in other companies’ data centers, Bloomberg reports, noting this "represents a key expansion of its efforts to cut into Nvidia's dominance", although a less optimistic read is that the company does not have enough demand or capacity to use the chips for its own uses.
Peter DeSantis, Amazon’s AI chief, said the world’s largest cloud computing company has begun discussions but declined to name potential customers. Presumably, it will try to steal market share by offering its product at a much more competitive terms, which suggests more pricing pressure across the AI ecosystem.
“We view AI infrastructure as rapidly evolving,” he said in an interview in Paris. “And we’re constantly looking at ways to get to more customers.”
Introduced in 2020, Amazon’s AI accelerator, Trainium, has won a few marquee buyers, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Uber, which access the hardware via Amazon Web Services. The chip has produced more than $225 billion in revenue commitments, Amazon said in April (for a word of caution about purchase commitments read our discussion on the trillions in off-balance sheet liabilities sloshing inside the AI ecosystem).
That same month, CEO Andy Jassy wrote in his shareholder letter that it’s “quite possible” Amazon would sell racks of its chips to third parties. It was part of a broader attempt to reposition the sprawling company around AI, an area where it’s seen as falling behind rivals.
Amazon and other cloud computing titans have each been developing their own alternatives to Nvidia’s popular graphics processing units — and ramped up these efforts after ChatGPT’s arrival.
While the AI boom has generated soaring cloud sales, it’s also fueled a new crop of specialized AI cloud providers and driven demand for “sovereign” services in Europe and other regions that are subject to local laws and usually locate information and data processing in the host country.
In April, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said Google will begin to deliver its Nvidia GPU rival chips, called tensor processing units, to a “select group of customers” for use in their own data centers. Amazon is following suit with Trainium, in part, due to the growing demand outside of the US for computing resources that are controlled locally, according to DeSantis. Alternatively, there is just not enough demand in the US, no matter what the daily bullish propaganda says (because as a reminder, due to the $2 trillion in interlinked off-balance sheet liabilities, the moment one counterparty trips, it will drag down everyone else with it).
Meanwhile, some of that foreign push, particularly in Europe, has prompted calls for countries to lessen their reliance on US technology or drop it altogether. Speaking at the VivaTech conference in France, DeSantis said the AWS business has not been impacted at all by this trend. Yet.
The third version of the Trainium chip, which began shipping earlier this year, is “largely sold out,” he said. Amazon said there’s already strong interest in a fourth version that’s expected to debut next year.
DeSantis dismissed the idea that selling Trainium outside of AWS would eat into the company’s cloud business. “There’s so much underconsumption in AI,” he said. “I’m not worried about it.” But with token prices tumbling, and compute rental costs in free fall, both of which signal a sudden drop in demand (or excess supply) for compute...
Perfect storm: token costs down 20% since start of the month (down 11 of 12 days) , while compute rental prices are at 1 month lows pic.twitter.com/dwIYeyihGx
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 16, 2026... he should be.
The executive also cited growth for Amazon’s Graviton chips, a general-purpose processor that it recently began providing to Meta. Over the last three years, DeSantis said Amazon has added more Graviton chips to its computing systems than any other type of chip.
Amazon shares gained as much as 2.5% on Thursday, reaching an intraday high of $243 on the news.
Tyler Durden Thu, 06/18/2026 - 12:25By Philip Marey, senior US strategist at Rabobank
Summary
Introduction
As widely expected, the FOMC kept the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.50 3.75% and dropped its easing bias. However, this decision was announced in an unusually short statement. The decision was unanimous, with Miran – who repeatedly dissented because he wanted to cut – was replaced by Warsh. The press conference was a clear break from in the Bernanke-Yellen-Powell era, with Warsh making an end to forward guidance.
FOMC statement and projections
The statement was so short, that we replicate it here:
The Federal Open Market Committee approved the following statement for release by a 12 – 0 vote:
The Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3-1/2 to 3-3/4 percent, in support of the Federal Reserve's dual mandate. The Committee reaffirmed its policy of maintaining ample reserves in the banking system.
Economic activity is expanding at a solid pace despite elevated uncertainty that owes, in part, to the conflict in the Middle East. Productivity growth and capital investment are strong. Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little.
Inflation remains elevated relative to the Committee's 2 percent goal, in part reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy. The Committee will deliver price stability.
Most notably, the easing bias previously expressed in the statement as “In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate…”., which suggested that the next change would be a rate cut -because the last three adjustments were rate cuts- was dropped.
Other interesting features of the statement were the reaffirmation of maintaining ample reserves – despite Warsh’s earlier stated goal to reduce the balance sheet – and the conclusion that the Committee will deliver price stability.
The new Summary of Economic Projections saw a large upward revision to the inflation forecasts for 2026 and core inflation in 2027. With minor changes to GDP and unemployment forecasts, the federal funds rate forecasts were revised upward in 2026, 2027, and 2028. In fact, the dot plot revealed that 9 out of 18 forecasting participants expected to hike before the end of the year. Warsh’s dots were missing. The median participant expects to get back to the current federal funds rate in 2027 and make another cut in 2028. This means we would have to wait at least until 2029 before the federal funds rate reaches its neutral level.
Warsh’s press conference
At the press conference, Warsh said that the FOMC recognized that inflation has been elevated for five years and that this Committee will deliver price stability. Warsh also announced the establishment of five task forces on: Fed communications, the balance sheet, improving data, productivity and jobs, and inflation frameworks. These task forces will include external experts.
Warsh also said that the FOMC statement was shorter and simpler, and that forward guidance was absent, because it is not suited for the current circumstances. He also confirmed that he refrained from providing projections, but he encouraged others to give their projections.
During the Q&A, he effectively terminated forward guidance. Any question regarding future policy decisions was deflected. He did say that financial markets work best if they react to the data and not to the Fed.
WARSH: I THINK THAT MARKETS PERFORM BEST WHEN REACTING TO INCOMING DATA, THEY WORK LESS EFFICIENTLY WHEN THEY ASK HOW WILL THE FED REACT TO THAT INCOMING INFORMATION
Finally, the 4th wall falls
He also elaborated on his plans to improve the data: he prefers real-time data instead of echoes from history. He thinks current data are often based on old-fashioned survey methods.
Conclusion
Although Warsh ended forward guidance, the SEP remains in place at least until the task force on communication has completed its work, probably by the end of the year. Although half of the forecasting participants now expects to hike before the end of the year, it was only three months ago – and after the outbreak of the war – that the median participant still expected one cut in 2026. This proves Warsh’s point that projections may not be very useful in the current situation. As uncertainty regarding the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz remains, we expect the Fed to remain on hold for the remainder of 2026. We expect the Fed to cut twice in 2027, provided that inflation expectations remain stable. If not, we may also have to pencil in hikes.
Tyler Durden Thu, 06/18/2026 - 12:00Summary:
The Financial Times is reporting that the Trump administration will allow Iran to access $6 billion of its oil money held in Qatar to purchase non-sanctioned goods from the US as part of the billions of dollars in financial incentives being floated to ensure that the Islamic Republic commits to the MOU signed on Wednesday.
The funds would be released in phases starting within the 60-day extended ceasefire set out in the deal, depending on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the progress of talks towards a final settlement.
They would only be used to buy American products, said a diplomat briefed on the deal. -FT
Vance's Israel 'Pwease' MomentDuring a Thursday presser, VP JD Vance suggested that Israel needs to show some appreciation.
🚨 WOW! JD Vance is DIRECTLY calling out Israeli cabinet members for their personal attacks on President Trump
"Donald J. Trump is the ONLY head of state in the ENTIRE WORLD who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time, and he happens to be the head of state… pic.twitter.com/0H9yGH8ubL
Energy prices continued to fall on Thursday after the United States and Iran signed a preliminary cease-fire agreement, raising hopes that the Strait of Hormuz will soon reopen to normal tanker traffic. The deal has been welcomed by markets but has drawn sharp criticism from Israel and quiet frustration from Gulf states, while also exposing tensions within the U.S. political system and NATO.
Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press Energy Markets and Hormuz ReopeningBrent crude fell to around $78.48 a barrel, down from levels near $95 seen late last week. In the United States, average gasoline prices dropped below $4 a gallon for the first time in months. Some commercial traffic has already resumed: three Saudi supertankers carrying roughly 6 million barrels of oil crossed from the Persian Gulf into the Gulf of Oman - the first significant volumes of Saudi crude to transit the strait since the war began.
"Oil down," Trump said following the signing, adding that allowing the war to continue "could have caused an international depression."
According to the text of the agreement, Iran will facilitate commercial ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz at no charge for the first 60 days. Full traffic is to resume within 30 days once technical and military obstacles are addressed and mines are cleared. Iran will hold talks with Oman on the future administration and maritime services of the waterway in line with international law. The United States and Gulf states have opposed any Iranian toll on what they regard as international waters.
Key Elements of the Preliminary DealThe memorandum of understanding, signed by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, launches at least 60 days of negotiations that could begin as early as Friday. It includes temporary waivers for Iranian oil exports, a commitment to halt hostilities linked to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, and a $300 billion private investment vehicle - the Reconstruction and Development Fund - designed to channel capital into Iran’s energy, logistics, manufacturing, and transport sectors.
Maritime traffic routes through the Strait of Hormuz from Sunday to Thursday.NBC NewsMore than half of the $300 billion has reportedly already been pledged by companies based in the United States, Gulf Arab states, Asia, South America, and Africa. The fund contains no government grants or U.S. taxpayer money and will only become operational after a final, comprehensive agreement is reached. It is separate from parallel talks on sanctions relief and unfrozen Iranian assets. Iran had originally sought $400 billion in war-damage compensation; the private fund mechanism emerged as the compromise.
A formal signing ceremony scheduled for Friday in Geneva is now in doubt after Iran’s foreign ministry indicated the remote signing may have made it unnecessary, though negotiating teams are still expected to meet there.
Iran Presents a United FrontIranian officials have moved swiftly to project a unified public stance following the signing of the preliminary cease-fire agreement. After weeks of reported internal political friction - during which some hardliners reportedly sought to derail the deal - senior figures are now emphasizing national victory and the need for domestic cohesion.
Seyed Abbas Mousavi, a senior government official, stated that only a “small number” of critics remain inside Iran and described the country as the clear winner of both the war and the subsequent negotiations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei went further, comparing the work of Iranian diplomats to that of soldiers operating “behind launchers and in trenches,” and urged the public to extend the same level of support to the negotiating team as it had to the military during the conflict.
This coordinated messaging marks a notable shift from the divisions that surfaced during the war and stands in contrast to the public criticism that has emerged from some Republican lawmakers in Washington since the deal was signed
GOP RiftTrump’s preliminary agreement with Iran has opened new fissures within the Republican Party. While some lawmakers praised the president for ending the fighting, others - including longtime allies and prominent conservatives - expressed sharp criticism, skepticism, and alarm over what they see as insufficient concessions from Tehran.
Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana called the war “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” arguing that Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed and that the regime had successfully used the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to extract concessions. “Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” he wrote on social media.
Senator Ted Cruz questioned whether the deal amounted to “giving $300 billion to the Iranian ayatollah,” while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said it was “a huge mistake to pay to rebuild the threat we just destroyed.”
"History teaches us giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea," Cruz continued.
WOW — Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) takes a major whack at Trump’s Iran MOU
Wicker says the $300B fund “would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison” pic.twitter.com/9Tyxa3DCOO
Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene described the war as “totally unnecessary” and sarcastically remarked, “This, apparently, is what winning looks like.”
The New York Post ran a critical front-page headline on Wednesday, accusing Trump of hitting Iran with a “LOVEBOMB” of cash and sanctions relief. Conservative pro-Israel commentator Mark Levin also said he found “much to be concerned about” in the agreement.
The backlash highlights a difficult balancing act for Mr. Trump. At the start of the conflict, he faced pushback from “America First” isolationists who opposed entering a new war. Now, as he tries to end it, he is drawing fire from more traditional national security conservatives who believe the deal fails to deliver lasting limits on Iran’s nuclear program or regional influence.
Not all Republicans were critical. Senator Tim Scott called the agreement a “major victory for American security and global stability,” while Senator Lindsey Graham expressed cautious optimism, saying he saw “little downside to trying” to reach a verifiable nuclear deal during the coming 60-day period.
Trump responded to his critics on Wednesday, dismissing them as “stupid and bad people” and insisting he had the support of the international community.
Washington and NATO Tensions FlareThe deal has faced pushback inside the United States, including from some Republican lawmakers concerned about the scope of sanctions relief and the reconstruction fund. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a pointed rebuke of NATO allies in Brussels, calling their refusal to facilitate U.S. strikes on Iran “shameful” and announcing a six-month review of American troop presence in Europe. He warned that U.S. support for the alliance would not be “a one-way street” and signaled possible cuts to Washington’s NATO contributions if allies do not increase defense spending.
Israel Views the Deal as a Strategic SetbackIsraeli analysts described the agreement as failing to achieve any of Israel’s primary war aims and potentially leaving the country worse off. The deal does not limit Iran’s ballistic-missile arsenal or its backing of proxy forces such as Hezbollah and the Houthis. The nuclear file is deferred to future talks. It also seeks to constrain Israeli operations in Lebanon and calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon - positions Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected, stating that Israel is not a party to the agreement and is not bound by its terms.
Commentators in Israel have characterized the outcome as a significant diplomatic reversal, noting that Iran appears emboldened, retains its missile capabilities, and stands to gain substantial financial resources that could flow to its military programs and regional allies. U.S. forces are also required to pull back from Iran’s immediate vicinity within 30 days under the framework.
🚨HOWARD LUTNICK REACTS TO TRUMP’S REMARKS
Howard Lutnick appeared to shake his head in disappointment as Trump said Israel had little to complain about. pic.twitter.com/UDCfCEL44b
Meanwhile...
Israeli National Security Minister Ben-Gvir:
We cannot stop destroying houses in southern Lebanon. We cannot stop, period.
We cannot allow the population of southern Lebanon to return. ... We must continue to control the territory even if Trump disagrees.
We are an… pic.twitter.com/vhHo7K1Ttv
Governments across the Persian Gulf - Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar - expressed disappointment that the agreement contains no curbs on Iran’s missile and drone programs. Analysts noted that Gulf states had hoped for stronger limits after suffering Iranian missile and drone attacks on airports, energy facilities, and other sites during the conflict.
Bader Al-Saif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University, said excluding Iran’s missiles and drones from the agreement showed that the United States “doesn’t have our best interests in mind.”
Mr. al-Saif said he has no doubt that Iran was already rebuilding its missile and drone capacities and that it would use the financial windfall it gets from the deal to acquire more of the weaponry. The agreement, which U.S. and Iranian officials have called a memorandum of understanding, says the Department of Treasury will issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives. -NYT
President Trump’s recent public remarks that Iran should be permitted some ballistic missiles because neighboring countries possess them drew particular notice, contrasting with earlier U.S. statements that the objective included denying Iran the ability to threaten the region with such weapons.
Regional experts assess that Gulf governments may now accelerate investment in air-defense systems and seek technical cooperation with countries such as Ukraine and South Korea. While some voices question long-term reliance on the United States as a security guarantor, analysts emphasize that any meaningful strategic reorientation would take a decade or more to develop.
What Happens NextU.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Friday to mark the agreement and launch the next round of negotiations. The 60-day period extends the existing cease-fire and will focus on Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions, and regional security arrangements. Whether the preliminary deal can be turned into a lasting settlement remains an open question amid the competing pressures from Israel, Gulf states, and domestic politics in Washington.
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Tyler Durden Thu, 06/18/2026 - 11:25