Amazon Nova Forge: Custom foundation models are no longer just for tech giants

Amazon Nova Forge, unveiled at AWS re:Invent 2025, is a groundbreaking enterprise AI capability that enables companies to create custom foundation models, called "Novellas," by integrating their proprietary data and domain knowledge directly into the model training process, rather than merely fine-tuning existing models. This approach, starting at approximately $100,000 per year, makes it feasible for mid-market companies to develop tailored AI solutions, previously a realm reserved for frontier labs with extensive budgets. Nova Forge offers an open training framework with access to pre-training, mid-training, and post-training checkpoints, allowing enterprises to maintain their proprietary data within AWS boundaries while preventing catastrophic forgetting. Reddit's successful consolidation of multiple machine learning models into a single, more efficient Nova-based model exemplifies Forge's potential to streamline operations and enhance performance. The platform's implications extend across various industries, including life sciences, finance, and manufacturing, where deep domain knowledge and proprietary data are crucial. By lowering the barrier to custom model development, Nova Forge democratizes AI capabilities, prompting enterprises to evaluate whether their unique data justifies building bespoke models that could surpass generic alternatives.