Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to raise $100 billion for AI-driven manufacturing fund

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is reportedly in early talks to raise $100 billion for a new fund that would acquire manufacturing companies and seek to use AI technology to speed up automation. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Bezos is meeting with some of the world’s largest asset managers to raise funding for the project.

The fund, reportedly called “manufacturing transformation vehicle” in investor documents, aims to buy companies in major industrial sectors such as chipmaking, defense and aerospace. The fund is expected to be larger than some of the world’s biggest buyout funds and could rival SoftBank’s $100 billion tech-focused Vision Fund.

Jeff Bezos seeks funding for new investment fund

The WSJ report states that Jeff Bezos has travelled 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 matter.A New York Times report last year revealed that Jeff Bezos would ‌serve ⁠as co-CEO of a new startup called Project Prometheus. The startup is reportedly aimed to focus on AI for engineering and manufacturing computers, automobiles and spacecraft.

What is Project Prometheus

As explained by WSJ, Project Prometheus is building AI systems that are able to simulate how the physical world behaves.

“For example, its technology might be able to simulate how air flows around an airplane wing, or predict exactly where a metal part will crack under pressure.” Citing people familiar with the matter, the report says that Project Prometheus is planning to raise up to $6 billion in funding. It recently appointed David Limp, the CEO of the rocket company Blue Origin, to its board of directors.“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,” WSJ reports.