In this post, we demonstrate how to use vLLM for scalable inference and use AWS Deep Learning Containers (DLC) to streamline model packaging and deployment. We’ll generate interest expansions through structured prompts, encode them into embeddings, retrieve candidates with FAISS, apply validation to keep results grounded, and frame the cold-start challenge as a scientific experiment—benchmarking LLM and encoder pairings, iterating rapidly on recommendation metrics, and showing clear ROI for each configuration