Amazon founder Jeff Bezos appears to be getting his hands dirty again. The billionaire is partially backing a new AI startup called Project Prometheus that has raised $6.2 billion in funding, and will take on the role of co-chief executive officer of the new venture, The New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the project.
Bezos will share the position with co-founder Vik Bajaj, who previously led Google’s life sciences division. Bajaj is also a co-founder of Alphabet Inc.’s biotech startup Verily and a co-founder of Foresight Labs, an AI-focused affiliate of investment firm Foresight Capital, which he recently left to start Prometheus, the report said.
This will be Bezos’ first return to work since leaving Amazon in 2021.
According to the NYT, the startup plans to build AI products for engineering and manufacturing in a variety of fields, including computers, aerospace, and automotive. According to its LinkedIn page, Project Prometheus focuses on “AI for the physical economy,” and the report notes that its efforts are similar to those of Periodic Labs, which is building technology to speed up scientific research by simulating the physical world to train AI models.
The company already has about 100 staff members, including researchers from AI companies such as Meta, OpenAI, and Google DeepMind, according to the report.
Amazon and Bajaj did not respond to requests for comment.
