Jeff Bezos' startup Prometheus raised $12 billion（約1.9兆円） to build AI systems for robotics and manufacturing, aiming to accelerate invention across industries.

What happened: Prometheus, co-founded by Jeff Bezos and Vik Bajaj, secured $12 billion（約1.9兆円） in funding from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and others, plus investment from Bezos himself. This follows an initial $6.2 billion（約9900億円） round last year, valuing the company at $41 billion（約6.6兆円）. The startup, which currently employs 150 people, is developing what Bezos calls an "artificial general engineer"—AI systems that apply deep learning to robotics and manufacturing.

Why it matters: Bezos frames the company's mission around accelerating human invention and economic progress. He told The New York Times that "all societal wealth is driven by invention," and Prometheus aims to offer tools that speed up that innovation loop. The massive funding commitment signals serious capital flowing into physical AI—the application of deep learning techniques to real-world machines and manufacturing rather than just text or images.

What to watch: The startup plans to spend much of the $12 billion（約1.9兆円） on compute (the processing power needed to train AI systems). Bezos told CNBC that compute intensity and data generation were key reasons for raising such a significant amount. The 150-person team and the backing of major financial institutions suggest this is a long-term, capital-heavy bet on AI for industrial applications.