Jeff Bezos is close to finalizing a $10 billion funding round for his AI startup that’s developing models with the capability of understanding the physical world, the Financial Times reported.
The fresh funding values the company, code-named Project Prometheus, at $38 billion, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the deal. JPMorgan and BlackRock are among the investors in the new round, the FT said, citing a person familiar with the matter. The round is expected to close soon but has not been finalized, it said. Prometheus, BlackRock and JPMorgan declined to comment to the FT.
Project Prometheus, which Bezos co-founded with scientist Vik Bajaj, will use AI to accelerate engineering and manufacturing in fields like aerospace and automobiles, the New York Times reported in November. The startup was set up with an initial $6.2 billion in funding, sourced in part from Bezos himself.
Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Bezos was in talks to raise $100 billion for a fund to acquire manufacturing companies and infuse them with artificial intelligence.
The startup has dozens of employees, some of whom were poached from leading AI labs like OpenAI and Google DeepMind, and it has been recruiting AI talent in San Francisco, Zurich and London, according to employees’ LinkedIn profiles.
This report is auto-generated from Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.