Project Prometheus, the AI startup founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, has opened an office in Zurich.

The company, whose creation was announced last November, focuses on developing AI for industrial and technological applications, according to Tages-Anzeiger.

Public posts on LinkedIn and X indicate that the Zurich office is one of several planned locations, alongside London and San Francisco.

Cristian Bodnar, a founding member of the company based in London, wrote in January:

“We are hiring experienced Research Engineers at Project Prometheus for our locations in London, Zurich, and San Francisco.”

According to Bodnar, new hires will focus on expertise in working with large datasets, training large AI models, and supporting interdisciplinary collaboration.

Three employees in Switzerland already list the company as their employer on LinkedIn, including former staff from Google and Sony.

One of them, AI researcher and investor Nal Kalchbrenner, recently appeared on a panel at AI House Davos during the World Economic Forum.

The company has not revealed how large its Zurich office is or what its specific research focus will be.

The Zurich economic development agency, Greater Zurich Area, declined to comment, and Project Prometheus has not made an official statement.

Jeff Bezos personally funded part of the US$6.2 billion capital used to launch Project Prometheus.

The company has stated that it plans to develop AI for use in spacecraft, vehicles, and computers. Jeff Bezos will serve as co-CEO alongside physicist and chemist Vik Bajaj, formerly with Google and a health-tech subsidiary of Alphabet.

Zurich has become an increasingly important location for technology companies, with Google employing around 5,000 people in the city.

Other firms, including OpenAI, Pinterest, Apple, Disney, Huawei, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle, also have a presence in the region.

Companies cite the city’s proximity to ETH Zurich as a key factor in attracting tech talent. Technology companies highly seek ETH Zurich graduates.

The presence of global tech companies in Zurich is a topic of debate.

Supporters highlight the role of these companies in driving economic growth and innovation. Critics, however, point to potential challenges, including gentrification, rising rents, and increased societal influence.

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Flickr and kavalenkava via Freepik