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Jeff Bezos’s Prometheus Raises $12B to Build an ‘Artificial General Engineer’ for the Physical World
Prometheus, a physical AI startup co-founded by Jeff Bezos and Vik Bajaj (who previously co-founded Verily, Google's life sciences arm), has announced a $12 billion funding round at a $41 billion valuation.
The funding includes contributions from Bezos himself, along with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and other investors.
According to CNBC, this marks Prometheus's second fundraising round. The company launched late last year with an initial $6.2 billion raise.
Prometheus is developing what it describes as an "artificial general engineer" — software designed to automate the design and manufacturing of complex physical systems, ranging from jet engines to pharmaceutical compounds.
The ambition is far-reaching: replacing broad areas of engineering work with AI. While the startup will automate many engineering tasks, Bezos told CNBC that the productivity gains from AI will create what he calls "labor scarcity" — a scenario where demand for human workers exceeds supply.
This view places him at odds with several prominent tech figures. While some AI leaders anticipate widespread job displacement, Bezos holds a different perspective.
"Significant productivity in the economy will raise living standards," he said. "Today's two-earner households may become one-earner households. Some people working overtime may stop doing so."
The company, which currently employs 150 people across offices in San Francisco, London, and Zurich, has not disclosed details of what it has already built.
Bezos noted that a significant portion of the funding will be directed toward the company's substantial computing requirements.
Bezos is familiar with large-scale labor dynamics. Amazon, where he serves as executive chairman and is the largest individual shareholder, employs over 1.5 million people globally. Under CEO Andy Jassy, the company has laid off tens of thousands of workers over the past year as it intensified its own automation efforts.
With a $41 billion valuation, Prometheus ranks among the most richly valued AI startups ever funded and represents one of the largest single bets on the physical AI sector. However, it is not the only company drawing significant investor interest. In recent months, venture capitalists have increasingly poured money into physical AI, a booming field that investors and founders argue is inherently more defensible than pure software — because the physical world creates moats that code alone cannot provide.
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Prometheus, a physical AI startup co-founded by Jeff Bezos and Vik Bajaj (who previously co-founded Verily, Google's life sciences arm), has announced a $12 billion funding round at a $41 billion valuation.
The funding includes contributions from Bezos himself, along with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and other investors.
According to CNBC, this marks Prometheus's second fundraising round. The company launched late last year with an initial $6.2 billion raise.
Prometheus is developing what it describes as an "artificial general engineer" — software designed to automate the design and manufacturing of complex physical systems, ranging from jet engines to pharmaceutical compounds.
The ambition is far-reaching: replacing broad areas of engineering work with AI. While the startup will automate many engineering tasks, Bezos told CNBC that the productivity gains from AI will create what he calls "labor scarcity" — a scenario where demand for human workers exceeds supply.
This view places him at odds with several prominent tech figures. While some AI leaders anticipate widespread job displacement, Bezos holds a different perspective.
"Significant productivity in the economy will raise living standards," he said. "Today's two-earner households may become one-earner households. Some people working overtime may stop doing so."
The company, which currently employs 150 people across offices in San Francisco, London, and Zurich, has not disclosed details of what it has already built.
Bezos noted that a significant portion of the funding will be directed toward the company's substantial computing requirements.
Bezos is familiar with large-scale labor dynamics. Amazon, where he serves as executive chairman and is the largest individual shareholder, employs over 1.5 million people globally. Under CEO Andy Jassy, the company has laid off tens of thousands of workers over the past year as it intensified its own automation efforts.
With a $41 billion valuation, Prometheus ranks among the most richly valued AI startups ever funded and represents one of the largest single bets on the physical AI sector. However, it is not the only company drawing significant investor interest. In recent months, venture capitalists have increasingly poured money into physical AI, a booming field that investors and founders argue is inherently more defensible than pure software — because the physical world creates moats that code alone cannot provide.
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