Bezos on Prometheus CEO Return: 'It's a Good Grind' at $41B

Jeff Bezos is back in a CEO chair for the first time since leaving Amazon in 2021. He calls the work at AI startup Prometheus "Type 2 fun" – the kind you appreciate after the climb is over.

The 62-year-old billionaire, speaking on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" this week, said running the company alongside co-CEO Vik Bajaj is a grind he welcomes. "It is a grind, it's a good grind," he said. Bezos started as an investor in late 2024 before going all in. "I couldn't sit on the sidelines," he told host David Faber.

Prometheus builds AI models for physical tasks like engineering and product development. The company launched with $6.2 billion in funding. On Thursday, it announced a new $12 billion round, pushing its valuation to $41 billion.

Bezos still advises Amazon and space company Blue Origin. AI now dominates his calendar across all three. "The common thread in my time spent is mostly AI," he said.

Co-CEOs Bezos and Bajaj, an adjunct professor of radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine and a seasoned life sciences executive, said they do not split responsibilities. Both stay involved in virtually every decision and communicate several times a day. "We're talking to each other multiple times a day … We're both involved in all of the decisions really," Bezos said. "We're tight at the hip."

Several high-profile CEOs have stepped down citing AI's pace. Bezos is moving the other way. Former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon stepped down in December 2024, saying a younger leader was better suited to drive the company's AI transition. Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen is set to exit after a successor is named as the software giant shifts toward AI-native creative tools. Bezos sees many miles still ahead.

SPCX stock closed at $160.95 per share on its first trading day, making Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire.