Prometheus, the bodily AI startup co-founded by Jeff Bezos and Vik Bajaj, the previous co-founder of Verily, Google’s life sciences unit, introduced it raised $12 billion at a $41 billion valuation.
The brand new funds got here from Bezos himself, in addition to from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock, amongst others.
That is the second fundraise spherical for Prometheus, which launched late final 12 months with an preliminary elevate of $6.2 billion, according to CNBC.
Prometheus is constructing what it calls an “synthetic basic engineer” — software program able to automating the design and manufacturing of advanced bodily techniques, from jet engines to drug compounds.
The ambition is sweeping: exchange giant swaths of engineering work with AI. Though the startup will automate many points of an engineer’s job, Bezos instructed CNBC that the productiveness positive aspects AI delivers will result in what he calls “labor shortage” — his time period for a world the place demand for human employees outpaces provide.
That places him at odds with various outstanding voices in tech. Whereas some AI leaders predict widespread job losses, Bezos sees it in a different way.
“Important productiveness within the economic system goes to lift the usual of dwelling,” he stated. “Individuals who at present have two-earner households, they’ll grow to be one-earner households. Possibly some people who find themselves working time beyond regulation will cease working time beyond regulation.”
The corporate, which at present has 150 staff throughout places of work in San Francisco, London, and Zurich, is holding the specifics of what it has already constructed below wraps.
Bezos indicated that a big portion of the capital will go towards the corporate’s giant compute wants.
Bezos is aware of one thing about labor at scale. Amazon — the place he serves as govt chairman and is the biggest particular person shareholder — employs greater than 1.5 million folks worldwide and over the previous 12 months, below CEO Andy Jassy, has laid off tens of thousands of individuals as the corporate has accelerated its personal automation push.
At $41 billion, Prometheus is likely one of the most richly valued AI startups ever funded, and one of many largest single bets on the bodily AI sector. Nevertheless it isn’t the one firm attracting large investor curiosity. In current months, enterprise capitalists have more and more poured capital into physical AIa booming sector that buyers and founders argue is inherently extra defensible than pure software program — as a result of the bodily world creates moats that code alone can’t.
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