Jeff Bezos just took his first new CEO role since stepping down from Amazon.
The company is called Project Prometheus. It has $6.2 billion in funding from day one, is co-led with former Google X/Verily executive Vik Bajaj, and has already hired ~100 researchers from OpenAI, DeepMind, Meta, and top labs.
This is not another chatbot startup.
Prometheus is explicitly targeting “AI for the physical economy” – using advanced models to design, simulate, and manufacture computers, vehicles, robotics, and aerospace systems. If it works, this is the shift from AI that talks to AI that builds.
For founders, operators, and investors, this is not just another headline. It is an early warning for where the next decade of value will accrue.
1. What Project Prometheus Actually Is (Fact-Checked)
From the reporting we have so far, you can separate signal from hype.
The hard facts:
Name & role
The company is Project Prometheus. Jeff Bezos is returning to an operational role as co-CEO, his first since leaving Amazon in 2021.
Capital stack
Prometheus launches with $6.2 billion in funding, making it one of the most heavily funded AI startups ever at inception.
Team
~100 employees already hired.
Includes researchers poached from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Meta, plus other top labs.
Mission focus
Build “AI for the physical economy”: models that accelerate engineering and manufacturing in:
Computing hardware and semiconductors
Automotive and mobility
Aerospace and space systems
Robotics and complex machinery
Modality
Early descriptions emphasize real-world experimentation, not just training on text and images. Prometheus is expected to work with data from simulations, physics engines, sensor streams, and physical tests.
In other words, Prometheus is not trying to be another OpenAI or Anthropic.
It is trying to be the AI brain for factories, robots, vehicles, and spacecraft.