Bezos opens up about AI startup Prometheus after $12 billion raise: ‘We’re not being secretive’

Bezos doubled down on Blue Origin’s formidable timeline to return its New Glenn rocket to flight by the top of the 12 months.

Final month, considered one of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets blew up throughout a static fireplace check at a Area Power launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

“It was a really tough occasion, a really unhealthy day for Blue Origin, very robust on the entire workforce,” Bezos stated.

Blue Origin is working to revive the launch web site, Bezos stated. The startup “obtained fortunate in a bunch of how,” together with that the longest lead objects had been undamaged by the explosion, he stated.

“We’ll be flying once more earlier than the top of this 12 months,” Bezos stated.

—Annie Palmer

Bezos stated he’ll be “watching together with the remainder of you,” when requested if he’ll be maintaining a tally of SpaceX’s IPO, which begins buying and selling Friday.

— CJ Haddad

Bezos stated that developments in synthetic intelligence will not kill jobs within the U.S. financial system — and can as a substitute enhance Individuals’ lifestyle to the purpose {that a} family with two earners might depend on only one revenue.

Bezos stated AI would enhance productiveness considerably within the U.S. financial system, thereby elevating the usual of residing and the “basket of products individuals can afford.”

“Lots of people who for instance in the present day have two-earner households, maybe a kind of earners will select not to be within the job market, in order that they’ll change into a one-earner family,” Bezos stated. “Perhaps some people who find themselves working additional time will cease working additional time, as a result of they do not need to work additional time.”

In 2024, each spouses had been employed in practically 50% of married {couples}, in response to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In households with youngsters, two-thirds of all households had each spouses working exterior the house.

—Greg Iacurci

Requested about efforts to manage AI, Bezos stated “cheap” legal guidelines are wanted, however he cautioned in opposition to regulation that would stifle innovation or halt AI improvement.

He pointed to authorities regulation of drug improvement and airways as examples the place legal guidelines assist be certain that merchandise are developed safely.

“There’s rather a lot to be stated for wholesome authorities regulation to enhance security and merchandise and so forth,” Bezos stated. “I do not see why that will not be utilized sooner or later to the sorts of latest instruments which can be being constructed by AI, however whenever you try this, you need to regulate the appliance stage. You do not need to by chance outlaw the knife as a result of it may be utilized in a nasty approach.”

He added, “Knives are necessary instruments and sure, each as soon as and some time they get misused by somebody. However the resolution to that is not to say, ‘OK, no extra information facilities. No extra knives.’ That is not a sensible method to regulation.”

—Annie Palmer

Bezos stated he has “a really completely different view” when requested about issues about AI and job losses, including that AI will carry “vital productiveness” to the financial system that may increase the usual of residing.

“They’re pessimistic as a result of a bunch of good individuals are telling them to be pessimistic, however these individuals are flawed,” he stated about public blowback in opposition to AI.

—CJ Haddad

Bezos is pulling again the curtain on what’s actually happening at Prometheus — and stated the corporate is not engaged on robots.

“There’s been some hypothesis,” he stated. “We thought, look, we’re not being secretive, proper? We’re simply being heads down and making an attempt to do the work, however … whenever you increase this a lot cash, individuals do get curious.”

Rumors have swirled that Prometheus is engaged on robots, however Bezos stated the corporate is creating AI for invention and bodily engineering.

— Samantha Subin

Bezos stated he participated in Prometheus’ collection B, after contributing a piece of capital in its first fundraising spherical.

The startup has shared few particulars about its different backers.

“We have raised cash, we now have an excellent workforce, we now have super work forward of us,” Bezos stated.

— Annie Palmer

Bezos, who additionally leads an area firm and serves as government chair at Amazon after stepping down as CEO in 2021, says he is allotting most of his time to synthetic intelligence.

“Prometheus is the majority of my time,” the billionaire stated. “I am additionally spending a variety of time on Blue [Origin]. I am spending a variety of time on AI at Amazon. So the widespread thread in my time spent is generally AI.”

— Samantha Subin

Bezos stated it is “straightforward to think about” Prometheus being a buyer of Amazon’s cloud enterprise because it requires extra compute capability.

“It is easy to think about Amazon or any hyperscaler utilizing the sorts of instruments” that Prometheus is creating to enhance their information facilities,” he added.

Bezos added that his two corporations would stay “at arm’s size.”

“We even have compute from a mess of sources,” he stated. “So we have to, proper now, compute is scarce sufficient that you simply get it the place you possibly can, together with AWS.”

— Annie Palmer

Bezos stated Prometheus is constructing a system that may speed up the “invention loop,” so that folks can construct instruments sooner.

“That is an age-old dream,” Bezos stated. “The concept that you may construct a set of instruments that would truly do engineering, a synthetic common engineer. It is a dream that we have had, as individuals thought about for many years, but it surely’s by no means actually been doable. However now it’s, and that is what we have been engaged on since late 2024.”

He stated Prometheus has assembled a workforce of about 150 individuals.

“It is onerous work, we’re grinding, but it surely’s additionally very fascinating,” Bezos stated.

— Annie Palmer

Bezos’ AI startup Prometheus raised $12 billion in collection B funding, valuing the corporate at roughly $41 billion.

—Annie Palmer

Bezos’ Blue Origin was dealt a setback final month when considered one of its New Glenn rockets erupted right into a fireball throughout a hot-fire check at a Area Power launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Throughout the check, Blue Origin’s large reusable rocket was secured to the launchpad, whereas its engines had been ignited to verify they labored correctly in preparation for an upcoming launch.

The check did not go as deliberate, and the rocket exploded.

Bezos stated on the time that it is “too early to know the basis trigger however we’re already working to search out it. Very tough day, however we’ll rebuild no matter wants rebuilding and get again to flying. It is price it.”

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman instructed CNBC earlier this month that it’ll “take some critical time” to revive the launchpad.

Blue Origin had simply returned New Glenn to the launchpad after an April incident the place the corporate delivered an AST SpaceMobile satellite tv for pc into the flawed orbit.

The New Glenn rocket was set to ferry a batch of 48 satellites for Amazon’s nascent Leo internet-from-space enterprise.

—Annie Palmer

Prometheus has largely operated in stealth since its launch in November, sharing few particulars about its goals or potential product pipeline.

Bezos supplied a uncommon window into Prometheus when he spoke to CNBC final month. He stated the corporate has “nothing to do with robotics,” and that it is creating a synthetic common engineer.

“We’re constructing instruments that may make it a lot simpler for engineers to design bodily objects,” Bezos stated.

He described the system as a “very, very trendy model” of CAD, or computer-aided design software program, although he cautioned that he is “actually oversimplifying right here, and it is untimely for me to provide a lot element about Prometheus.”

Prometheus operates out of San Francisco, London and Zurich, Switzerland. Prometheus’ LinkedIn web page states that the startup has employed about 120 staff.

The web page says Prometheus’ mission is “AI for the bodily financial system.”

—Annie Palmer

Prometheus marks the primary time Bezos has assumed a CEO function since he left the helm of Amazon, which he based, in July 2021. Bezos stays Amazon’s government chairman, however he has more and more turned his consideration to different pursuits.

Bezos based Blue Origin, a rocket startup that competes with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for presidency contracts and satellite tv for pc launch missions. He is additionally government chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, a $10 billion local weather and biodiversity fund.

—Annie Palmer

Bezos instructed CNBC final month that AI has been an enormous a part of his focus over the previous couple of years.

“My time at Amazon is spent on AI, my time at Prometheus is spent on AI … and my time at Blue is essentially spent on AI,” he stated.

—Chris Eudaily