Jeff Bezos’ newest venture into the AI industry has sparked a sharp reaction from competitor Elon Musk.
The exchange began when the New York Times reported that Bezos, who stepped down from leading Amazon four years ago to explore other ventures, has launched a new AI company, naming himself as co-chief executive.
This new AI initiative, called Project Prometheus, focuses on delivering AI solutions for the engineering and manufacturing sectors and has already secured an impressive $6.2 billion in funding, even before establishing any revenue or products.
It seems that Bezos, with a net worth of $244 billion, is seizing the opportunity presented by the current AI investment surge, albeit two years after Elon Musk, the PayPal founder and owner of X, who boasts a net worth of $470 billion.
Musk’s enterprise in the AI domain, xAI, is valued at an extraordinary $200 billion.
The AI firm established by Musk, a South African entrepreneur, is behind the X chatbot Grok and provides various private services to the US Government, including the Department of War.
xAI’s remarkable valuation ranks it at twice the worth of the oil giant BP, despite its estimated gross annual revenue being $1 billion, which is significantly less than BP’s $189 billion pre-profit revenue in 2024. xAI is projected to expand to a $14 billion revenue by the end of the decade.
This rapid growth and potential profitability have likely drawn Bezos back to a CEO position with Project Prometheus. He co-founded this initiative with Vik Bajaj, a respected technology executive previously associated with Google’s AI division.
Musk believes Bezos is mimicking his own path, sharing news of Bezos’ new business with the remark: “Haha no way. Copy [cat emoji].”
Details about when Bezos and Bajaj started the company or when the $6.2 billion funding will translate into an AI product or service are scant.
Nevertheless, it is evident that Prometheus is stepping into a progressively congested market space, as venture capital seeks to dominate this innovative sector.
This year, investments in AI by tech companies have reached $400 billion, with projections for even greater funding in the coming year.
However, recent shifts in global financial markets have caused concern among industry investors, amid warnings that the rapid rise in profits and market valuations of tech and AI firms might be leading to a bubble.
Michael Burry, famed for his role in The Big Short, has cautioned that a booming market is often followed by a sharp correction and has accused companies in the sector of using creative accounting to ‘artificially boost earnings.’
Nvidia, a major player in the tech sector valued at $4.5 trillion, has seen its value increase tenfold over the last two and a half years, largely due to its role in producing computer chips essential for many AI models.
This rapid escalation has raised fears that the AI boom might develop into a ‘speculative bubble’ that could eventually collapse.