Jeff Bezos is doubling down on artificial intelligence with his $41bn venture Prometheus, dismissing widespread fears that the technology will destroy employment. The Amazon founder argues AI will instead usher in 'multiple golden ages' across manufacturing, engineering and other sectors.

Prometheus plans to build an 'artificial general engineer' trained on real-world physics data, aiming to shorten design and manufacturing pipelines. Bezos and co-CEO Vikram Bajaj have raised $12bn from investors including JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock to fund this ambitious project.

The company will leverage stakes in traditional manufacturers through a dedicated holding vehicle that could reach $100bn. Blue Origin, Bezos's rocket venture, represents a key beneficiary of Prometheus's tools, though it trails SpaceX in the commercial space race.

Bezos believes AI will create labour shortages and spawn more jobs than it eliminates, contrasting with Anthropic's Dario Amodei who warns of workforce disruption. With hundreds of hires and talent poached from OpenAI and Meta, Prometheus is aggressively positioning itself in the AI-for-physical-processes market.