Jeff Bezos is in early discussions to raise $100 billion for a new fund aimed at acquiring manufacturing companies and leveraging AI technology to speed up their automation processes.
The Amazon.com founder is meeting with some of the world’s largest asset managers 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, News.Az reports, citing The Wall Street Journal.
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.
While much of the AI revolution has been focused on large language models, billions of dollars have begun to flow to companies that are seeking to apply spatially focused AI systems toward industries including robotics and manufacturing.