This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Jeff Bezos is pushing deeper into the AI boom as Prometheus, the artificial intelligence startup he leads, has raised $12 billion in new funding at a $41 billion valuation. The round drew backing from JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), and Bezos himself, according to a company spokesperson. The financing strengthens Bezos’s position as a major figure in the AI race after stepping down as Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO in 2021.
Prometheus, overseen by Bezos and Google veteran Vik Bajaj, is focused on developing AI models and tools that could help engineer and manufacture physical products. The company is targeting industries such as computing and aerospace, giving investors another signal that AI investment may be moving beyond software and deeper into the physical economy. The startup currently has about 150 employees.
The move also fits into Bezos’s broader post-Amazon playbook, which includes building Blue Origin and investing in AI ventures such as Physical Intelligence and Generalist AI. Prometheus has also sought to raise tens of billions of dollars, possibly more, for a holding company that plans to buy firms outright if they are seen as benefiting from the technologies the lab is developing.
