Jeff Bezos's Prometheus Raises $12B to Build AI That Could Transform Drug Discovery
核心洞察
Prometheus (搜索), co-founded by Jeff Bezos and Verily (搜索) co-founder Vik Bajaj, has raised $12 billion at a $41 billion valuation, bringing total capital to over $18 billion.
The startup is building an "artificial general engineer" — AI software to automate design and manufacturing of complex physical systems, including drug compounds.
Backers include JPMorgan Chase (搜索), Goldman Sachs (搜索), BlackRock (搜索), DST Global (搜索), and Arch Venture Partners (搜索), alongside Bezos himself.
Prometheus (搜索), the physical AI startup co-founded by Jeff Bezos and Vik Bajaj — the former co-founder of Verily (搜索), Google's life sciences unit — has raised $12 billion in its latest funding round, valuing the company at $41 billion. The round, which follows an initial $6.2 billion raise late last year, brings the company's total capital to over $18 billion.
The new funds came from Bezos himself alongside institutional investors including JPMorgan Chase (搜索), Goldman Sachs (搜索), BlackRock (搜索), DST Global (搜索), and Arch Venture Partners (搜索).
An 'Artificial General Engineer' for Drug Discovery and Beyond
Prometheus (搜索) is developing what it describes as an "artificial general engineer" — software capable of automating the design and manufacturing of complex physical systems. The company's stated application areas span aerospace, advanced manufacturing, automotive, and notably, drug discovery and pharmaceutical compounds.
The ambition is to replace large swaths of engineering work with AI, including the design of drug compounds — a domain traditionally requiring years of specialized human expertise. While the company has kept specifics of its technology under wraps, it has been actively recruiting from organizations including OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Nvidia.
Leadership and Scientific Pedigree
Bezos co-leads Prometheus (搜索) with Vik Bajaj, who previously co-founded Verily (搜索), Google's life sciences unit, and serves as a professor at Stanford University's School of Medicine. Bajaj's background in life sciences suggests the company's drug discovery ambitions carry genuine scientific weight.
The venture currently employs approximately 150 people across offices in San Francisco, London, and Zurich.
Bezos's Vision: Productivity Over Job Losses
In a stance that puts him at odds with prominent voices in tech who warn of widespread job displacement from AI, Bezos framed the company's mission in terms of rising living standards.
"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."
Bezos coined the term "labor scarcity" to describe a future where demand for human workers outpaces supply — a counter-narrative to prevailing fears about AI-driven unemployment.
Compute-Heavy Ambitions
Bezos indicated that a large portion of the new capital will go toward the company's substantial computing requirements. Prometheus (搜索) has stated that achieving its ambitions will depend on further advances in AI and significant computing resources, both supported by its recent fundraising efforts.
The company has not disclosed details about its current product developments, maintaining a notably secretive posture despite the scale of its fundraising.