Jeff Bezos laughs at the Economic Club of Washington’s Milestone Celebration event on September 13, 2018. (Saul Loeb – AFP / Getty Images)
By Ireland Owens March 22, 2026 at 7:30am
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is reportedly in early discussions about raising $100 billion for a new effort that would purchase manufacturing companies and aim to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology for automation.Bezos has been hosting meetings with some of the biggest asset managers worldwide in an effort to notch funding for the initiative, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday.
The billionaire went to the Middle East in recent months to discuss the new effort with sovereign wealth representatives in the area, and also recently traveled to Singapore to raise money for the AI manufacturing fund, the WSJ reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
The new fund, which investor documents described as a “manufacturing transformation vehicle,” seeks to obtain companies across key industrial sectors including semiconductor production, defense, and aerospace, according to the WSJ. It would surpass many of the world’s largest buyout funds in size and compete with SoftBank’s $100 billion, tech-focused Vision Fund.
Bezos was notably recently appointed co-CEO of Project Prometheus, an AI startup, the WSJ reported. He is seeking to utilize the company’s technology to enhance efficiency and drive profitability across the fund’s portfolio businesses, according to the outlet.
Moreover, Project Prometheus, which Bezos co-founded with former Google executive Vikram Bajaj, has separately been discussing raising up to $6 billion in funding, the WSJ reported, citing anonymous sources. The tech startup recently appointed David Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, an aerospace manufacturer founded by Bezos, to its board of directors, according to the outlet.
Amazon did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Project Prometheus could not be reached for comment.
Project Prometheus notably raised $6.2 billion in late 2025, Financial Times reported in February. The company is mainly prioritizing developing AI to engineer and manufacture computers, automobiles and spacecrafts, The New York Times reported in November 2025.
Multiple analysts warned the DCNF in January that widespread AI adoption could lead to major problems, including the gradual erosion of certain entry-level jobs and ramping up economic uncertainty.
An estimated 6.1 percent of jobs will be lost across the U.S. by 2030 due to AI and automation, according to a January report from Forrester, a research and advisory firm.
Additionally, a September 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 50 percent of Americans said they feel more concerned than excited about the rising use of AI in daily life, up from 37 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, 10 percent of respondents were more excited than concerned and 38 percent said they were equally excited and concerned, the poll shows.
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