Jeff Bezos' Physical AI Lab Close to Securing $10 Billion at $38 Billion Valuation
April 21, 2026 - 7:32 am
Project Prometheus, launched in November 2025 with $6.2 billion in initial funding, is developing AI systems that understand the physical world, targeting engineering, manufacturing, aerospace, robotics, and drug discovery. The round has not yet closed, according to The Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the deal.
Jeff Bezos is on the cusp of finalising a $10 billion funding round for his AI laboratory at a $38 billion valuation. JPMorgan and BlackRock have joined as investors in this new venture. However, fundraising was not finalised at the time of publication; BlackRock declined to comment.
Project Prometheus focuses on "physical AI," systems that learn through real-world interactions and understand physical laws, contrasting with traditional AI models that solely rely on text and images.
The lab aims to transform engineering, manufacturing, aerospace, robotics, drug discovery, and logistics automation. Led by CEO Vikram Bajaj, a former Google X scientist and co-founder of Foresite Labs, the team has grown to over 120 employees from prominent AI companies like OpenAI, xAI, Meta, and DeepMind.
Bezos serves as an initial investor and leads the fundraising effort alongside Bajaj. A $38 billion valuation would position Prometheus among the most highly valued early-stage AI startups globally.
This investment follows Amazon's recent commitment of up to $25 billion in new investment for Anthropic and a $100 billion cloud spending pledge, highlighting the dramatic shift in scale for AI infrastructure deals.
While large language models (LLMs) have dominated AI investments since 2022, physical AI systems require specialised data on material behaviour and proprietary information from manufacturing processes, creating both barriers to entry and potential long-term advantages for companies like Prometheus that can accumulate such data.
This venture marks Bezos' first operational role in a technology company since leaving Amazon in 2021, signalling his ambitious plans to apply AI directly to traditional physical industries.