Prometheus, the industrial AI startup led by Jeff Bezos and former Google exec Vik Bajaj, today will announce that it's raised $12 billion in Series B funding at a $41 billion post-money valuation.

• Investors include JPMorgan, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, DST Global, and Arch Venture Partners. Plus Bezos himself, who was the largest backer in a $6.2 billion Series A round.

Why it matters: It's a massive bet to rearchitect how physical things are made, from jet engines to medical devices to consumer electronics.

What they're saying: "The cycle from dream to manufacturing at rate ... can be very long," Bezos tells Axios.

• "For example, if you go to a current jet engine manufacturer and say you want the exact same engine but with 10% more thrust, it could be a 10-year program. Not because they're lazy or bad at their jobs, but because it's so complex. So what we're doing is building a set of tools that will empower engineers to compress that cycle time and make that dream-build loop be 10 times faster or even more."

Catch up quick: We previously reported that Prometheus (which has dropped the "Project" qualifier) isn't about robotics or automating factories — although Bezos acknowledges that it could be used to design and manufacture both robots and factories.

• Instead, it's using AI to optimize pre-production machinery and processes, such as prototyping.

The big picture: Bezos and Bajaj had been publicly mum on the effort until now.

• They say that Prometheus currently has around 150 employees and seeks to build what they call an "artificial general engineer."
• It doesn't have corporate ties to either Amazon or Blue Origin, with Bezos saying "it deserves a dedicated team that it obsessed with this one thing." However, he also called Blue Origin a "case study for a customer of Prometheus."

The intrigue: Prometheus seems like both a replacement for human engineers and a copilot for them.

• Both Bezos and Bajaj insist that the effort, if it works, will result in more human engineers.
• "The pace of our physical creation right now is nowhere near the pace of human imagination," Bajaj argues. "If we can make it just a little bit easier, or hopefully a lot easier, to bring to life what people dream of there's going to be a lot more invention and a lot more people involved in it."

Zoom in: There's still a lot we don't know.

• For example, they declined to discuss a reported effort to raise $100 billion for an affiliated holding company that would buy legacy industrial companies that would then feed data into Prometheus (and, presumably, provide those companies with AI solutions in a virtuous cycle).
• In a similar vein, they aren't sharing how Prometheus is being trained, except to acknowledge that there isn't an "internet of manufacturing data" they can ingest. Same goes for timing or details of its initial product rollout.

The bottom line: Bezos has his billions. Now it's time to build.

OpenAI may slash its token prices to better compete with Anthropic, according to the WSJ.

Why it's the BFD: This could set off a pricing war, subsidized by private capital.

• It also comes as both OpenAI and Anthropic are prepping IPOs, which isn't typically when companies compress margins.

The bottom line: OpenAI and Anthropic are hearing corporate concerns about accelerating AI spend, and how it's becoming more salient than incremental model improvements.

• Neura Robotics, a German developer of humanoid robotics, raised $1.4b in Series C funding from Tether, Qualcomm, Amazon, Nvidia, imec.xpand, Bosch, Schaeffler, European Investment Bank, Lingotto Horizon, and InterAlpen Partners. axios.link/4uqwVik

• Cyera, an NYC-based data security company, raised $600m at a $12b ​valuation. Evolution Equity Partners led, joined by Temasek, Cyberstarts, Accel, AT&T Ventures, Blackstone, and Coatue. axios.link/4ekSAml

• Digital Asset, developer of the Canton Network, raised $355m. A16z led, joined by 7RIDGE, ABN Amro, ADIA, Alumni Ventures, Apollo Funds, BNP Paribas, Broadridge, Citadel Securities, CME Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Greenwulf Asset Management, HanwhaInvestment & Securities, HSBC, iCapital, Liberty City Ventures, Optiver, Polychain, R136 Ventures, S&P Global, SBI Group, Smash Capital, SoFi, Tradeweb, and William Blair. axios.link/49SwKoI

• TensorWave, a Las Vegas-based AMD AI cloud, raised $350m in Series B funding. Magnetar and AMD Ventures led, joined by Maverick Silicon, Nexus Venture Partners, and Western Frontier. axios.link/4v0FMIH

• Satispay, an Italian fintech unicorn, said it plans to raise up to €120m, half of which is already committed by insiders like Greyhound, Addition, and Lightrock. axios.link/4eAVF2H

• Theker, a Barcelona-based developer of industrial robots, raised $85m in Series A funding. CRV led, joined by Samsung, LVMH, Cathay Innovation, 20VC, Henkel Ventures, Korelya, Bright Pixel Capital and insiders Inditex. Kfund, Kibo Ventures, and Mission. theker.ai

• Current, an NYC-based consumer fintech, raised $80m in Series E funding at a $1.5b valuation led by Springcoast Partners. axios.link/43pOILI

• Hypha, an operating platform for private-market investors, raised $50m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. TriEdge Investments led, joined by Bankwell, Cammeby's International, CFG Bank, Crescent Heights, Dwight Capital, MonticelloAM, and Yakar Partners. axios.link/4vC54g5

• Turnout, a San Diego-based benefits claims navigation platform, raised $35m at a $400m post-money valuation led by HighPost Capital, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4oioWCx

• Earlytrade, a Denver-based provider of working capital management for the construction market, raised $25m led by S3 Ventures and Brick & Mortar Ventures. axios.link/49PiInR

• Pi, a cybersecurity startup that analyzes code and communications, raised $25m in Series A funding led by Third Point Ventures. axios.link/4vdyNw0

• Upriver, an SF-based data engineering platform, raised $14m in seed funding, led by Valley Capital Partners and Hetz Ventures. axios.link/4ei9LF6

• Mendo, a French enterprise AI adoption startup, raised €12m in Series A funding. Ventech and Educapital led, joined by Tomcat and OVNI. axios.link/4aovJVy

• Swarm Engineering, an SF-based decision intelligence platform for agrifood and manufacturing, raised $10m in Series A funding. S2G Investments and AgRogue Growth Partners led, joined by Radicle Growth, Grit Road Partners, Middleland Capital, Open Prairie, Serra Ventures, and Trailhead Capital. axios.link/4uwwva9

• Niteshift, an NYC-based cloud platform for AI coding agents, raised $7m in seed funding. Greylock led, joined by Amplify Partners, Lux Capital, BoxGroup and SV Angel. axios.link/43vFA8i

• Lium, a complex data set interpretation startup, raised $5.5m in seed funding from SJF Ventures, Wavemaker 360, Reach Capital, and GC&H Investments. axios.link/4gc9plN

• TurnUp, a Belgian startup that helps medical and dental practices reduce cancellations, raised €2m in seed funding. Newion led, joined by RDY Ventures. axios.link/3QvpV61

• KKR has formed an AI infrastructure platform called Helix Digital Infrastructure, in partnership with the Kuwait Investment Authority, Nvidia, and Vistra. It has $10b in initial commitments and is led by Adam Selipsky, former CEO of Amazon Web Services. axios.link/3RXtv9u

⚡ DCC (LSE: DCC), an Ireland-based energy distributor, said it would accept a sweetened £5.7b takeover offer from KKR and Energy Capital Partners. axios.link/4e1vbHt

• DwyerOmega, a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, acquired Burns Engineering, an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based provider of provider of temperature measurement. axios.link/4ouipVx

🚑 Healthcare Holding Schweiz, managed by Winterberg Advisory and KKA Partners, acquired Compet Medical, a Swiss provider of harm reduction solutions for public health groups. axios.link/4ecbY4K

• HGGC and WPCG agreed to acquire minority stakes in Crewe Advisors, a Utah-based RIA. axios.link/4fDo754

• Lead Edge Capital invested in Advancing Analytics, a London-based data and Databricks consultancy. axios.link/4uuqon2

• Liberty Waste Solutions, an Allied Industrial Partners portfolio company, acquired Bill's Trash Services, a residential waste collector in the Fayetteville and Harnett County, N.C., markets. axios.link/4v6cxo1

🚑 Med-Metrix, a Harvest Partners and A&M Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired CanAide, a provider of Medicaid eligibility and enrollment services and RCM automation solutions, from HCAP Partners. axios.link/4aciYxx

• Motive Partners acquired Mobius, a U.K. pension investment firm, from Phoenix Equity Partners. axios.link/4e4PiVq

🚑 PartsSource, a Bain Capital portfolio company, acquired SkillNet, a workforce intelligence platform for hospitals and health systems. axios.link/4xih4Fc

🌍 Permira agreed to invest in CDP, a London-based environmental disclosure nonprofit that is splitting into a commercial arm and a foundation focused on environmental science. axios.link/4urqjjG

• Ridgeline Roofing & Restoration, a Bertram Capital portfolio company, acquired Nebraska-based Fremont Roofing Co. axios.link/3SxiJXv

⚡ Stonepeak and Energy Equation Partners agreed to acquire Anwim, a Polish fuel marketer and gas station network (MOYA). axios.link/43xaWLN

• American Ventures Acquisition I, a SPAC led by Anthony Hayes (Dominari Holdings), filed for a $100m IPO. axios.link/3SybQ8k

⚡ China Resources New Energy, the renewable unit of China Resources Power (HK: 0836), plans to raise $3.62b in what would be the largest-ever IPO in Shenzhen. axios.link/3S0daRu

⚡ Deep Fission, a Berkeley, Calif.-based developer of underground nuclear reactors, slashed its IPO terms to 2.5m shares at $16-$18 from 6m shares at $24-$26. It now would have a $1.1b fully diluted value, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (FISN). Shareholders include 8VC, with an 8% pre-IPO stake. axios.link/4vJQCD5

• InstallatørGruppen, an FSN Capital-backed provider of technical installation services in Denmark and Switzerland, listed on the Nasdaq Copenhagen (IG). axios.link/4uu1ELG

🚑 Kardigan, a South SF-based cardiovascular drug developer, set IPO terms to 23.3m shares at $14-$16. It would have a $1.6b fully diluted value, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (KARD). Kardigan had raised $550m from firms like Arch Venture Partners (22.5% pre-IPO stake), HRTG (22.5%), Perceptive Advisors (12.7%), Fidelity (6.9%), T. Rowe Price, and Sequoia Heritage. axios.link/4xm6TiT

⚡️ MiCo Group of South Korea acquired NEM Energy, a Dutch energy facility engineering company, from Mutares. axios.link/4aIwBo6

⚡️ Voltus, an SF-based virtual power plant operator, agreed to acquire Brightfield AI, an energy storage software provider backed by Overture Ventures and Energy Impact Partners. axios.link/4urAkgY

⚡️ ZincFive, a Tualatin, Ore.-based maker of data center batteries, agreed to go public at a $600m pre-money valuation via a reverse merger with SparkLabs Group, a SPAC formed by SparkLabs Group, ZincFive has raised over $250m from firms like Helios Climate Ventures, DBL Partners, and Climate Investment. axios.link/4e5hDLi

• Eaton (NYSE: ETN) is carving out its mobility unit, which will merge with Dana (NYSE: DAN) into a combined company valued at $10b (including debt). axios.link/4v7MRaC

• Ennoconn (Taiwan: 6414) offered to acquire listed Austrian IoT services firm Kontron for around €1.47b. axios.link/4v5DZCk

• Frasers Group (LSE: FRAS) offered to buy German fashion brand Hugo Boss (ETR: BOSS) for around €2.7b, or €38 per share (4% premium to Wednesday's close). axios.link/4xqKlOm

• Warner Music Group (Nasdaq: WMG) agreed to acquire Sureel AI, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based AI attribution startup. axios.link/4uoiDyH

• Ares Management raised $8.5b for its latest Pathfiner private credit fund, which focuses on complex situations. axios.link/49RiNr7

• Muhammad Alhammad joined Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund as director of health-care MENA investment. axios.link/3Sx1PIx

⚡️ David Aaronson joined McGuireWoods as a Houston-based partner focused on energy M&A. He previously was with O'Melveny. axios.link/4en6qoh

• Ken Wolff joined OceanSound Partners as a partner and chief legal officer. He previously co-led the PE group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. axios.link/4ejYpQN