According to DCD, Verizon Business has added Amazon Web Services as its latest partner for Verizon AI Connect, which aims to deploy AI workloads at scale. The deal involves Verizon building new long-haul, high-capacity fiber pathways to connect AWS data center locations. Verizon originally unveiled AI Connect in January 2024, revealing that Google Cloud and Meta were already using the service for their AI workloads. Scott Lawrence, SVP and chief product officer at Verizon Business, stated that AI will be essential to the future of business and society. Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of AWS Infrastructure Services, confirmed this builds on their long-standing partnership to provide secure and efficient cloud infrastructure. During Verizon’s most recent earnings call, new CEO Dan Schulman called for a “full reboot” at the carrier while pushing AI adoption for cost efficiency.
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The bigger picture
Here’s the thing about this partnership – it’s not really about Verizon suddenly discovering AI. They’re basically monetizing assets they already have. Remember, Verizon has been sitting on underutilized data center capacity for years. Now they’re smartly repurposing that infrastructure for the AI boom.
And let’s be honest – this is a win-win. AWS gets dedicated, high-performance network paths without having to build everything themselves. Verizon gets to position itself as an AI infrastructure player rather than just a telco. But the real question is: can Verizon actually compete with the big cloud providers on their own turf?
Why now matters
Look, the timing here is everything. Verizon’s new CEO Dan Schulman just took over and immediately called for a “full reboot.” He’s clearly looking for growth areas beyond traditional telecom services. AI infrastructure represents exactly that kind of opportunity.
What’s interesting is how quickly they’re moving. They only announced AI Connect in January, and already they’ve signed up Google, Meta, and now AWS. That’s basically the who’s who of AI infrastructure customers. It suggests there’s genuine demand for what Verizon’s offering.
The competitive landscape
So where does this leave Verizon in the broader AI infrastructure race? They’re not trying to be another cloud provider – that ship has sailed. Instead, they’re positioning themselves as the connectivity layer between all these AI players.
Think about it: every AI model needs to move massive amounts of data between data centers, cloud providers, and end users. Verizon’s betting that their fiber network gives them a natural advantage in handling that traffic. And honestly, they might be right. Building global fiber networks isn’t something you can spin up overnight.
The challenge will be whether they can move fast enough to keep up with AI’s explosive growth. Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned about AI infrastructure, it’s that yesterday’s capacity is already today’s bottleneck.
