Bezos-Backed Prometheus Lands $12B to Build AI That Designs Jet Engines and Drugs

Prometheus, the physical AI startup co-founded by Jeff Bezos and former Verily co-founder Vik Bajaj, has closed a $12 billion funding round at a $41 billion valuation. The round includes investments from Bezos himself, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock. This follows the company's initial $6.2 billion raise late last year.

The startup is developing what it calls an "artificial general engineer" - software intended to automate the design and manufacturing of complex physical systems, such as jet engines, industrial machinery, and pharmaceutical compounds. The goal is to replace significant portions of traditional engineering work with AI.

Bezos argues that the resulting productivity gains will create "labor scarcity," where demand for human workers exceeds supply. He envisions a future where two-earner households become one-earner households and overtime becomes unnecessary. This optimistic view contrasts with warnings from other tech leaders about widespread job displacement.

Prometheus currently employs 150 people across offices in San Francisco, London, and Zurich. The company has not disclosed specifics about its technology, but Bezos indicated that much of the new capital will fund massive computing infrastructure.

At a $41 billion valuation, Prometheus ranks among the most valuable AI startups ever funded. It also represents one of the largest bets on physical AI - a sector attracting intense investor interest because, as many argue, hardware and real-world systems create competitive moats that pure software cannot match.

Source: TechCrunch