Elon Musk Calls Jeff Bezos "Copycat" Following Launch of $6.2 Billion AI Venture Project Prometheus

Elon Musk has taken a swipe at Jeff Bezos, labeling him a "copycat," a term he's previously employed whenever the Amazon founder ventured into technology sectors where the Tesla CEO already maintained a significant presence.

Following Bezos' announcement of his forthcoming artificial intelligence platform, Musk responded on X with "Haha no way," accompanied by a laughing emoji, then posted "copy" alongside a cat emoji.

This isn't the first instance of Musk accusing Bezos of imitation. He made identical remarks previously when Bezos unveiled plans for internet-beaming satellites competing with Musk's SpaceX, and again when Amazon acquired Zoox, a self-driving vehicle startup challenging Tesla.

The two billionaires have maintained a long-standing rivalry across multiple domains, from space exploration to satellite internet and now artificial intelligence. Musk's xAI introduced its Grok model, competing with OpenAI and Google. Now, Bezos' new venture, Project Prometheus, enters the competitive landscape.

Project Prometheus represents Bezos' first significant operational role since stepping down as Amazon's CEO four years ago. The company will be jointly led by former Google X scientist Vik Bajaj, who has collaborated closely with Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

Bezos will serve as CEO of Project Prometheus alongside Bajaj, who co-founded Verily and Foresite Labs.

The venture has secured $6.2 billion in funding, partially from Bezos himself, making it one of the world's most richly funded startups at such an early stage, according to the New York Times.

Project Prometheus aims to develop AI products for engineering and manufacturing sectors including computers, aerospace, and automobiles.

The startup has already recruited nearly 100 employees, including researchers from leading AI organizations such as OpenAI, DeepMind, and Meta.