Prometheus Secures $12 Billion to Develop a Physical-World Engineering AI Platform

Prometheus, the physical AI startup co-founded by Jeff Bezos and Vik Bajaj, the former co-founder of Verily, Google’s life sciences division, has raised $12 billion at a $41 billion valuation.

The funding round included participation from Bezos as well as major financial institutions,s including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock.

The raise follows Prometheus’s launch late last year, when the company secured an initial $6.2 billion round, according to CNBC.

Prometheus is developing what it calls an “artificial general engineer” — software designed to automate the design and manufacturing of complex physical systems, ranging from jet engines to pharmaceutical compounds.

The startup’s goal is to automate significant portions of engineering work using AI. Despite concerns from some technology leaders that AI could eliminate jobs, Bezos believes the productivity gains from the technology will lead to what he calls “labour scarcity,” where demand for workers exceeds supply.

“Significant productivity in the economy is going to raise the standard of living,” Bezos said. “People who today have two-earner households, they’ll become one-earner households. Maybe some people who are working overtime will stop working overtime.”

The company currently employs around 150 people across San Francisco, London, and Zurich. However, it has revealed few details about the products and systems it has already developed.

According to Bezos, a substantial share of the newly raised capital will be invested in the company’s computing infrastructure and AI training needs.

Bezos is no stranger to managing large workforces. Amazon, where he serves as executive chairman and remains the largest individual shareholder, employs more than 1.5 million people globally. Under CEO Andy Jassy, the company has cut tens of thousands of jobs over the past year while accelerating automation initiatives.

With a valuation of $41 billion, Prometheus ranks among the most valuable AI startups ever funded and represents one of the largest investments in the rapidly growing physical AI sector. The company is part of a broader trend in which venture capital firms have poured billions into physical AI startups, which many investors believe have stronger competitive advantages than software-only businesses because real-world engineering and manufacturing challenges create barriers that are difficult to replicate through software alone.