Bezos Co-CEOs $6.2B AI Startup Project Prometheus

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has returned to an operational leadership role as co-chief executive of a new artificial intelligence startup called Project Prometheus, which has secured $6.2 billion in initial funding, according to people familiar with the matter. The venture, focused on developing AI systems for engineering and manufacturing in sectors such as computers, aerospace, and automobiles, marks Bezos's first formal executive position since he stepped down as Amazon's CEO in July 2021.

Bezos is co-leading the company alongside Vik Bajaj, a physicist and chemist with extensive experience in innovative tech projects. Bajaj previously collaborated with Google co-founder Sergey Brin at the company's experimental X lab, known for ambitious initiatives like drone delivery service Wing and the self-driving technology that evolved into Waymo. He later co-founded Verily, Alphabet's life sciences research unit, and served as CEO of Foresite Labs, an incubator for AI and data science startups, before leaving that role to join Project Prometheus.

The startup's substantial funding, partially provided by Bezos himself, positions it among the most well-financed early-stage...