Jeff Bezos is returning to a chief executive role for the first time since leaving Amazon in 2021, launching a new artificial intelligence venture called Project Prometheus — a start-up already reported to have secured $6.2 billion in early-stage funding.
According to The New York Times, the new company will be co-led by Bezos and Vik Bajaj, a former senior figure at Google X who worked closely with co-founder Sergey Brin and helped launch the Alphabet-backed biotech firm Verily. The move marks Bezos’s most ambitious foray into AI to date and adds to a portfolio that already includes space exploration company Blue Origin.
Project Prometheus is focused on developing AI systems to support high-stakes engineering and manufacturing across sectors such as aerospace, computing and automotive technology. The company has reportedly hired nearly 100 staff, drawing senior talent from OpenAI, Meta, DeepMind and other leading AI labs.
If confirmed, the $6.2 billion raised — including contributions from Bezos himself — would make Project Prometheus one of the most heavily financed start-ups in the world, despite not yet having officially launched or provided detailed financial disclosures.
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