More than four years after stepping down as Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos is returning to an operational role. In 2025, the billionaire announced he would serve as co-chief executive officer of Project Prometheus, a new artificial intelligence company. He shares the title with Vikram 'Vik' Bajaj, an Indian-origin scientist and entrepreneur. This marks Bezos's first hands-on leadership position since July 2021.
Prometheus has already raised approximately $12 billion in funding, with a valuation of $41 billion. While Bezos is well-known, his partner Vik Bajaj is less familiar. Here is a closer look at Bajaj's background.
Early Life and Education
Born in 1977 in Canada, Bajaj grew up in a family of Indian immigrants who were among the early post-independence settlers. His father held leadership roles in public and private education, while his mother worked as a physician. Bajaj earned a combined Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degree in biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. He then obtained a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), followed by a postdoctoral research position at the University of California, Berkeley.
Academic and Research Career
Bajaj initially pursued academia, working as a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and as a principal investigator at UC Berkeley. In 2013, he transitioned to the tech industry, joining Google X, the company's research and development division. There, he worked with molecular biologist Andy Conrad and Google co-founder Sergey Brin to establish Google Life Sciences, which later became Verily under Alphabet. As co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Google Life Sciences, Bajaj applied data science and advanced technologies to healthcare and biology. He also held a director-level position at Google X and contributed to early-stage projects that evolved into Waymo and Wing.
Move to Healthcare and Cancer Detection
In 2016, Bajaj left Google to join cancer detection company Grail as Chief Scientific Officer. The move was partly influenced by his father's death from cancer in 2015. He stayed at Grail for a year but remained on its Scientific Advisory Board until 2021, when Illumina acquired Grail. In 2017, he moved to Foresite Capital, a healthcare-focused investment firm, as managing director. A year later, he became co-founder and CEO of Foresite Labs, the firm's startup incubation platform combining healthcare, life sciences, and data science.
Prometheus and Future Plans
Prometheus emerged from Foresite Labs. Bezos and Bajaj began working on the project in late 2024 and launched the company in 2025. Prometheus aims to shorten the path from concept to production by applying AI to design and develop complex products. Investors include JPMorgan, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, DST Global, Arch Venture Partners, and Bezos himself. To focus on the venture, Bajaj stepped down as CEO of Foresite Labs in February 2026.
Alongside his startup work, Bajaj maintains roles in research and public service. He serves as a non-executive director at Genomics England, a company owned by the UK Department of Health and Social Care, and is an adjunct professor at Stanford School of Medicine, a position he has held for over a decade. As of now, Bajaj is closely watched by the world at the center of one of the most anticipated AI ventures.
