Jeff Bezos in Talks to Raise $100 Billion for AI Manufacturing Fund
Amazon.com founder has traveled to Middle East, Singapore in fundraising effort linked to Project Prometheus AI startup
- Jeff Bezos is in early talks to raise $100 billion for a fund to acquire manufacturing companies and apply AI for automation.
- The fund, described as a “manufacturing transformation vehicle,” aims to buy companies in major industrial sectors like chipmaking, defense and aerospace.
- Jeff Bezos, co-CEO of Project Prometheus, plans to use its AI technology to boost the efficiency of businesses owned by the fund.
Jeff Bezos is in early talks to raise $100 billion for a new fund that would buy up manufacturing companies and seek to use AI technology to accelerate their path to automation.
The Amazon.com founder is meeting with some of the world’s largest asset managers in order to raise funding for the project. A few months ago, he traveled to the Middle East to discuss the new fund with sovereign wealth representatives in the region. More recently, he went to Singapore to raise funding for the effort as well, according to people familiar with the efforts.
The fund, described in investor documents as a “manufacturing transformation vehicle,” is aiming to buy companies in major industrial sectors such as chipmaking, defense and aerospace. It would dwarf the size of some of the world’s largest buyout funds and rival SoftBank’s $100-billion, tech-focused Vision Fund.
Bezos was recently appointed co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a new startup that is building AI models that can understand and simulate the physical world. Bezos plans to use the company’s technology to boost the efficiency and profitability of businesses owned by the fund, a playbook that some investment firms are similarly deploying in sectors such as accounting and property management.
Project Prometheus is separately in talks to raise up to $6 billion in funding, according to people familiar with the matter. It recently appointed David Limp, the CEO of the rocket company Blue Origin, to its board of directors. Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 and has contributed billions a year toward the rocket company.