Jeff Bezos is back in an operating role, this time at a new industrial AI startup already valued at about $41 billion. Prometheus, which Bezos co-leads with Vik Bajaj, has raised $12 billion as it comes out of stealth, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The funding round includes backing from Bezos, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock. Founded at the end of 2024 with $6.2 billion in initial funding, Prometheus now has about 150 employees across San Francisco, London, and Zurich. The company has also recruited talent from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Nvidia.
Prometheus is building what it calls an “artificial general engineer,” an AI system designed to help create complex physical products such as jet engines. Bajaj told The Wall Street Journal that the company wants its technology to cover the full engineering process, from design decisions and performance modeling to how products are manufactured.
Bezos described the company’s goal as making invention faster and easier for engineers. He told CNBC that Prometheus is working on an AI engineer that would allow smaller teams to accomplish more on shorter timelines, adding that the idea made him excited enough to become co-CEO.
The startup is entering a growing race to bring AI into physical industries such as manufacturing, energy, and supply chains. The Wall Street Journal has also reported that Prometheus explored assembling a $100 billion fund to acquire manufacturing companies and transform their operations with AI.
Bezos has pushed back on fears that AI will simply eliminate jobs. He acknowledged that some roles will shrink, but argued that higher productivity could create broader economic gains, including households where one earner leaves the labor force because productivity has increased.
