Bezos Backs $6.2B AI Startup Focused on Engineering & Space

Jeff Bezos is stepping into a formal leadership role again — this time as co‑CEO of Project Prometheus, a newly revealed artificial intelligence startup that’s aiming high: computers, cars and even spacecraft. According to The New York Times, the startup has already raised $6.2 billion, partially from Bezos himself, making Prometheus one of the most well‑funded early‑stage AI companies in the world.

This marks Bezos’s first major operational role since he stepped down as Amazon’s CEO in July 2021. While he’s been active in Blue Origin, there he holds just the “founder” title — at Prometheus, he’s treading back into day‑to‑day executive waters.

At the helm alongside him is Vik Bajaj, a physicist and chemist who once worked with Sergey Brin at Google’s experimental lab, X (also known as the “Moonshot Factory”). Bajaj brings deep R&D experience, and together they plan to steer Prometheus into tackling industrial-scale problems.

Already, Project Prometheus has recruited nearly 100 employees, drawing talent from major AI powerhouses — OpenAI, DeepMind, and Meta, among others, as reported by the Times. This suggests they’re building serious technical firepower right from the start.

The company’s focus isn’t the typical AI playbook of chatbots or language models. Instead, Prometheus will develop AI systems for engineering and manufacturing, targeting sectors like high-performance computing, automotive production, and even aerospace.

In doing so, Bezos is entering a crowded, competitive field. Industry giants such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta already dominate in some AI domains, but few are explicitly tackling the physical engineering layer — which could give Prometheus a unique edge.

By backing — and now leading — Prometheus, Bezos may be signaling where he believes the next frontier of AI lies: not just in digital intelligence, but in transforming how physical things are designed, built, and optimized.