(Reuters) -Jeff Bezos will serve as co-chief executive officer of a new artificial intelligence startup that focuses on AI for engineering and manufacturing of computers, automobiles and spacecraft, the New York Times reported on Monday.

The company, called Project Prometheus, has garnered $6.2 billion in funding, partly from the Amazon ( AMZN ) founder, making it one of the most well-financed early-stage startups in the world, the report said, citing three people familiar with the company.

This is the first time Bezos has taken a formal operational role in a company since he stepped down as the CEO of Amazon ( AMZN ) in July 2021. Though he is involved in Blue Origin, his official title at the space firm is founder.

With the new startup, Bezos is entering a crowded AI market with several smaller firms attempting to break through with new software and products while in a race with industry mainstays such as the Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Meta and Google.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Bezos and a representative did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Bezos' co-chief executive is Vik Bajaj, a physicist and chemist who worked closely with Google's co-founder Sergey Brin at Google's X, a research effort often called "The Moonshot Factory," the report said.

Project Prometheus has already hired nearly 100 employees, including researchers from top AI firms such as OpenAI, DeepMind and Meta, according to the Times.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)