Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and one of the world’s wealthiest individuals with a net worth of $256 billion, is taking on a new operational role as co-CEO of Project Prometheus, an AI startup focused on applying artificial intelligence to physical tasks, including robotics, engineering, manufacturing, drug development, and scientific discovery, The New York Times reports.
The company will target applications across several industries, including computing, aerospace, and automobiles. Project Prometheus has already secured $6.2 billion in funding, partly contributed by Bezos himself, making it one of the best-funded early-stage AI ventures globally.
Bezos will lead the company alongside Vik Bajaj, a physicist and chemist with extensive experience in science and technology. Bajaj previously served as chief scientific officer at Google Life Sciences, chaired Verily’s scientific initiatives, and held positions at UC Berkeley and Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Most recently, he co-founded and led Foresite Labs before leaving to start Project Prometheus.
The startup has already hired nearly 100 employees, including researchers from OpenAI, DeepMind, and Meta, with Nal Kalchbrenner, an angel investor and former Google research scientist, listed among the founding technical team. Details on the company’s founding date and headquarters remain undisclosed.
Project Prometheus joins a growing wave of AI startups focused on physical tasks. Earlier initiatives include Bezos’ investment in Physical Intelligence, while companies like Periodic Labs are also pursuing AI-driven scientific discoveries. The venture reflects a broader industry trend, with major players like SoftBank investing heavily in robotics and physical AI applications.
This role marks Bezos’ first formal operational position since stepping down as Amazon CEO in 2021, although he remains deeply involved with his space venture, Blue Origin. Project Prometheus is poised to be a high-profile entry into the rapidly evolving landscape of AI for real-world, physical tasks.
