Jeff Bezos’ AI Startup Secretly Buys Agentic Computing Firm
▼ Summary
– Tech entrepreneur Vik Bajaj hosted a private AI discussion dinner in June at a San Francisco restaurant, attended by former DeepMind/Tesla researcher Sherjil Ozair.
– Bajaj had been secretly collaborating with Jeff Bezos on Project Prometheus, a new AI venture with $6.2 billion in funding focused on manufacturing computers, cars, and spacecraft.
– Project Prometheus acquired Ozair’s startup General Agents shortly after the dinner, bringing on over 100 employees including Ozair and his former colleagues.
– Corporate filings show Bajaj formed an entity to acquire General Agents the morning after the dinner, with the merger completed four days later under undisclosed terms.
– The acquisition connection was revealed through corporate records showing General Agents’ new address matches Bajaj’s biotech incubator Foresite Labs, where the June dinner was hosted.
Jeff Bezos’ new artificial intelligence initiative, Project Prometheus, has discreetly acquired the agentic computing firm General Agents, signaling a major expansion into advanced AI systems for manufacturing and aerospace. The acquisition, which occurred shortly after a private San Francisco dinner hosted by tech entrepreneur Vik Bajaj, brings significant AI talent into the Bezos-backed venture.
In early June, Bajaj reserved Saison, a two-Michelin-star restaurant, for an off-the-record gathering with journalists and scientists. Among the attendees was Sherjil Ozair, a researcher with past senior roles at DeepMind and Tesla. Public records indicate that Bajaj and Ozair moved quickly to finalize a deal the very next day.
Though the dinner conversation centered on artificial intelligence, Bajaz did not disclose his ongoing collaboration with Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos. Earlier this year, the two had launched Project Prometheus, an AI startup reportedly funded with $6.2 billion that is developing systems to support computer, automobile, and spacecraft manufacturing. Two individuals with knowledge of the project confirmed these details but requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Project Prometheus has already grown to include more than 100 employees. Among the new hires are Ozair and several colleagues from his former company, General Agents, which has now been absorbed by the Bezos venture. While The New York Times recently broke the first story about Prometheus, revealing that Bezos and Bajaj will serve as co-CEOs, the takeover of General Agents had not been previously reported.
Corporate filings from Delaware show that Bajaj, a cofounder of Alphabet’s health sciences subsidiary Verily, established a legal entity to acquire General Agents the morning after the San Francisco dinner. The merger was completed just four days later. Specific financial terms remain undisclosed.
Records list General Agents’ new business address as the San Francisco headquarters of Foresite Labs, a biotech incubator led by Bajaj. Bezos, who left his role as Amazon CEO in 2021, has previously invested in several biotech firms that Bajaj helped launch or manage, including Grail and Xaira Therapeutics, according to a source familiar with their relationship.
Bajaj and Ozair did not reply to requests for comment. Mythos Ventures, an early investor in General Agents, also declined to comment, as did Foresite Labs, which hosted the June dinner.
Just two days after the acquisition, General Agents cofounder William Guss, a former OpenAI research scientist, posted on social media seeking introductions to professionals in U.S. manufacturing. He expressed interest in learning more about the industry and touring factories, suggesting a practical, hands-on approach to integrating AI into production environments.
(Source: Wired)