Introduction

On May 30, 2025, Amazon quietly introduced Project Orion, a new line of smart routers that double as AI inference nodes. These devices integrate voice recognition, small language model summarization, and computer vision capabilities—without requiring cloud connectivity.

“Edge AI needs a new form factor—one that’s invisible and ambient,” said David Limp, Amazon SVP of Devices.¹ “With Orion, the router becomes more than a gateway—it’s the intelligence layer for your environment.”

Each Orion router runs AWS Inferential-based containerized models, with built-in acceleration for Whisper, Llama 3 Mini, and Vision Transformers. It supports Amazon’s device APIs and features a privacy-first toggle that disables telemetry and isolates memory during sensitive tasks.

Why it matters now

• AI workloads are shifting to the edge for lower latency and better data sovereignty.
• Consumer and SMB markets need alternatives to GPU-based cloud processing.
• Routers are ubiquitous, underutilized devices perfect for embedded AI.

Call-out: Your router just got smarter—way smarter

Project Orion handles full audio transcription or document summarization in under 300 milliseconds, on-device, with no internet access required.

Business implications

Retailers can deploy Orion nodes for in-store voice commands, video analytics, or digital signage personalization.

Clinics and law firms gain local AI processing for PHI and PII without regulatory headaches.

Developers can now deploy models to edge networks via AWS Edge Container Registry and configure failover using VPC syncing.

Amazon will release Orion in two configurations:

• Orion Home with Wi-Fi 7 and Alexa integration.
• Orion Pro, including PoE support and tools for enterprise edge deployments.

Looking ahead

Amazon is working with Broadcom and Anthropic to optimize thermal efficiency and pre-load safe, use-case-specific models. A management console for local inferencing is expected to roll out this summer to AWS Business Prime accounts.

Forrester Research projects that half of all enterprise edge devices will include AI accelerators by 2028, up from just 6% in 2023.

The upshot: Amazon’s Project Orion quietly redefines what a router can be. When your network thinks

, AI isn’t an app—it’s infrastructure.

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¹ David Limp, Project Orion Launch Memo, May 30, 2025.