Bezos: AI Will Cut Hours, Not Jobs; Prometheus Raises $12B

Jeff Bezos argued in an interview that artificial intelligence will shorten working hours for many Americans rather than trigger widespread job losses. He linked the change to higher productivity and the ability of machines to handle more tasks.

His physical-AI startup Prometheus disclosed a $12 billion Series B round that values the company at $41 billion. Investors in the round include JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, DST Global and Arch Venture Partners; Bezos also participated.

Prometheus launched in November with $6.2 billion in initial backing. The company, led by Bezos and co‑CEO Vik Bajaj, employs about 150 people and builds AI systems for engineering and manufacturing physical products.

Bezos predicted the gains could create a shortage of labor rather than mass unemployment. He offered an example: “A lot of people who, for example, today have two‑earner households, perhaps one of those earners will choose not to be in the job market, so they’ll become a one‑earner household. Maybe some people who are working overtime will stop working overtime, because they don’t want to work overtime.”

Public opinion and recent labor trends show different signals. A Pew Research Center survey found about half of U.S. adults feel more concerned than excited about AI’s growing role in daily life. Several companies have announced layoffs they link in part to automation and AI adoption, and analysts continue to debate the net employment effects.

Prometheus’s new valuation is roughly four times its launch figure. Vik Bajaj previously co‑founded Verily. The Series B funding will support the startup’s work on AI tools for design and production, the company says.

Bezos linked the funding announcement to his view that AI-driven productivity can change how people allocate work and leisure, allowing some to reduce hours or leave the workforce by choice.