Jeff Bezos is a startup CEO again.
The Amazon founder is co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a new AI startup that has raised $6.2 billion in funding, according to The New York Times, making it one of the most well-funded early stage AI companies.
The move represents Bezos’ return to an operational executive role for the first time since stepping down as CEO of Amazon in 2021. He is “founder” at Blue Origin, his Kent, Wash.-based space company, but the role at Project Prometheus reflects his desire to engage more directly.
There are few public details about the company. Its LinkedIn page offers a simple description: “AI for the physical economy.” Bezos is also an investor in the company.
The startup already has about 100 employees and is targeting computers, automobiles, and aerospace, according to the Times. Its headquarters location is unknown.
Bezos will lead the company with fellow co-CEO and co-founder Vik Bajaj, a life sciences veteran who previously worked on research efforts at Alphabet’s “moonshot” unit Google X. Bajaj is managing director at Foresite Capital Management and also co-founder and a director at Xaira Therapeutics, a biotech startup with offices in Seattle.
Given Bezos’ existing ties to Amazon (as founder and largest individual shareholder), there could be potential collaboration between the Seattle tech giant and Project Prometheus.
For example, Amazon could serve as a potential customer, R&D partner, or infrastructure provider for Prometheus’s AI-for-engineering ambitions. The startup could also benefit from Amazon’s existing logistics, robotics and operational systems experience.
During a recent fireside chat at Italian Tech Week 2025 in Turin, Bezos acknowledged signs of an AI “industrial bubble” — but also said the technology will bring massive benefits to society.
“When the dust settles and you see who are the winners, society benefits from those inventions. … The benefits to society from AI are going to be gigantic,” he said.
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