Prometheus launched in November and is developing AI tools to help engineers design and manufacture physical products, CNBC reported Thursday (June 11).
Bezos said in the report that the company launched the funding round to acquire more compute. He added that he contributed capital in Prometheus’ first funding round and its latest one.
He denied rumors that Prometheus is working on robots and said that the company is creating AI for invention and physical engineering, according to the report.
“Prometheus is the bulk of my time,” Bezos said in the report. “I’m also spending a lot of time on Blue [Origin]. I’m spending a lot of time on AI at Amazon. So the common thread in my time spent is mostly AI.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Bezos said in an interview that Prometheus plans to build an “artificial general engineer” that can design and manufacture complex physical products such as a jet engine and help smaller teams of engineers accomplish more in less time.
Bajaj said in the report that Prometheus aims to build AI systems that can facilitate the entire engineering process, including designing products, predicting their performance and manufacturing.
Bezos said AI will benefit workers because while it will shrink the number of people needed for today’s jobs, it will create more opportunities than it eliminates.
The report said Prometheus has offices in San Francisco, London and Zurich and has hired about 150 people.
Bloomberg reported Thursday that Bezos has invested in several AI ventures, including robotics firms Physical Intelligence and Generalist AI, while also focusing on Blue Origin and serving as executive chair of Amazon. He stepped down as CEO at Amazon in 2021.
It was reported in February that Prometheus is raising “tens of billions of dollars” to buy businesses disrupted by AI and then use the technology to improve their margins.
According to that report, the company raised $6.2 billion last year in a deal that valued it at $30 billion.
For all PYMNTS AI coverage, subscribe to the daily AI Newsletter.
