Bezos takes a huge gamble on industrial AI! His subsidiary "Prometheus" launches a billion-dollar funding round

Jeff Bezos’s artificial intelligence laboratory is seeking hundreds of billions of dollars in funding to create a holding platform dedicated to acquiring industrial companies affected by AI technology. This is one of the largest efforts to bet on AI disrupting the real economy to date.

According to the Financial Times, the project, codenamed “Project Prometheus,” completed $6.2 billion in funding at the end of last year. Two insiders revealed that this round of funding valued the company at approximately $30 billion (excluding new funds raised in this round).

The goal of Prometheus is to build a new AI system beyond large language models, capable of mapping the physical world and understanding design and engineering principles, with Bezos serving as co-CEO.

While combining AI technology with traditional industry mergers and acquisitions is not unique to Bezos, the scale of this effort far exceeds similar initiatives. Once news broke, market attention on AI-driven industrial M&A waves intensified again.

Bezos Returns to Management, Leading Industrial AI Strategy

Prometheus is co-led by Bezos and former Google executive Vikram Bajaj. Bezos serves as co-CEO, marking his first management role since stepping down as Amazon CEO in 2021. Insiders say he is deeply involved in the company’s daily operations.

The founding team also includes former Microsoft research scientist Christian Bodnar and Nal Kalchbrenner, who previously worked at Google DeepMind.

Robert Nelsen, founder of Seattle-based ARCH Venture Partners, also participated in this funding round and has been appointed to the Prometheus board. Last month, he predicted that Prometheus would become “one of the most important companies in the world.”

Headquartered in San Francisco with offices in London and Zurich, the company has recruited over 100 employees from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Meta, with expertise spanning large language models, computer vision, weather forecasting, and physical simulation chip optimization.

Beyond Large Language Models, Targeting Complex Industrial Manufacturing

Technologically, Prometheus aims to develop a new AI system that surpasses large language models, capable of mapping the physical world and understanding design and engineering principles.

The company focuses on complex manufacturing processes such as jet engines and computer chips, aiming to significantly reduce production cycles and resource consumption. To this end, Prometheus has collected data from relevant industrial fields to train its AI system and has recruited engineers to create precise 3D models of engine parts and other components.

Insiders note that although companies like Li F飞飞’s World Labs and Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs are developing “world models” that understand the real world through video, Prometheus, while also researching physical world navigation AI systems, has a different technical approach from these world model projects.

In June, the company completed an acquisition of startup General Agents, bringing in founders Sherjil Ozair and William Guss—both former researchers at DeepMind and OpenAI.

Scale Far Exceeds Peers, Potential Entry by Sovereign Funds and J.P. Morgan

Combining AI technology with traditional industry M&A is not unique to Bezos. Venture capital firms like Thrive Capital and General Catalyst have previously established M&A tools focused on AI disruption. However, reports indicate that Prometheus’s planned scale far surpasses these peers.

Nelsen, founder of ARCH Venture Partners, supported the initial $6.2 billion funding.

Currently, Prometheus is in early-stage negotiations to establish a new holding company, positioned as a “manufacturing transformation vehicle,” aiming to use hundreds of billions of dollars to acquire traditional industrial companies that could improve profit margins through AI technology.

Insiders reveal that Prometheus has engaged with multiple sovereign wealth funds, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), to discuss investment in this holding company.

Meanwhile, Bezos is also in talks with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon regarding investment cooperation. The funds are expected to be invested through JPMorgan’s $10 billion “Safety and Resilience Initiative” fund, aimed at strengthening key U.S. supply chains.

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