Jeff Bezos reportedly launches new AI startup with himself as CEO (www.theguardian.com)

Jeff Bezos has reportedly returned to the CEO role as co-head of a new AI startup called Project Prometheus, according to the New York Times. Co-led by physicist‑chemist Vik Bajaj (formerly of X/Verily), the company has already raised an eye‑watering $6.2 billion and hired roughly 100 staff, including engineers poached from OpenAI, DeepMind and Meta. Public details are thin: the venture is said to target AI for engineering and manufacturing across multiple fields, but its location, product roadmap and technical approach have not been disclosed. The move matters because it signals a major new contender focused on “industrial” or domain‑specific AI—an area that could reshape product design, simulation, robotics and digital‑twin workflows if backed by deep models, proprietary datasets and bespoke compute infrastructure. Bajaj’s scientific background and the level of funding suggest Prometheus could pursue physics‑aware models or tightly integrated hardware‑software stacks rather than generic chat models. At the same time, the splashy financing and aggressive hiring underscore intensifying competition for talent and capital in AI, raising questions about long‑term financial sustainability and how new entrants will differentiate from incumbents like OpenAI, Google and Meta.