Additionally, the dossier suggests an executive from AWS was involved in an improper personal relationship with an executive from C5. Donnelly’s lawyer spoke with Bloomberg and said she was nothing to do with the contract. AWS also responded in an official blog post, denying any link between its relationship with C5 and the JEDI bid: “The story claimed that AWS has “joined forces” and is “working together on a number of cloud computing projects all over the world” with C5. This is quite misleading and does not accurately represent the relationship AWS has with C5. AWS is one of several organizations that support two C5 startup accelerator programs, the Peacetech Accelerator in Washington, D.C. and Cloud 10 Scalerator in Bahrain, to help early-stage businesses with mentorship, training on cloud computing skills, and access to potential investors. We support these accelerators through our AWS Activate program. This is no different to the work AWS does with many other accelerators and venture capital firms all over the world to provide technology resources, support, education, training, and guidance for startup companies and entrepreneurs. We encourage you to look at our AWS Activate page, which will give you the exact details of our relationship with organizations taking part in the program.”
