A report sheds light on how much money the tech tycoon and spacefaring enthusiast is spending on AI. And he's not alone – other family offices in the US have been opening their wallets.

Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos has been investing into artificial intelligence tech via his family office, known as Bezos Expeditions, according to CNBC.

The news organization, citing material from FINTRX, a private wealth intelligence platform, said Bezos Expeditions took part in more than $1 billion of funding rounds. 

In January, Bezos invested in the $73.6 million Series B round of Perplexity AI, an AI-powered search engine company. He also invested in a $63 million follow-on round in April. The value of Bezos Expeditions’ January investment likely doubled by April, since the company says its valuation soared to between $2.5 billion and $3 billion. In February, Bezos Expeditions invested in Figure AI, the humanoid-robot company that also counts Nvidia and Microsoft as investors. The venture round totaled $675 million, the report said. 

The report said Bezos invested in a $300 million Series A round of Skild AI, which makes AI systems for machines and robotics devices.

Given the nature of Amazon, it is perhaps unsurprising that Bezos Expeditions has a fondness for technology. The report said 70 per cent of the entrepreneur’s family office investments are in technology. The next-biggest category is consumer goods, at 16 per cent, followed by financial services and manufacturing, both at 13 per cent. But now, his primary focus seems to be AI.

As the report noted, the UBS Global Family Office Report said AI is family offices’ favorite investment category.

The UBS report said: “From a thematic perspective, it’s to be expected that generative AI is the most popular investment theme, with more than three quarters (78 per cent) of family offices stating it is likely to be an area of investment in the next two to three years.”

AI is followed in the family office choices of themes by healthtech (70 per cent), and automation and robotics (67 per cent). US family offices are the keenest on AI – with 83 per cent of them saying they are likely to invest in this tech, while 76 per cent of Swiss family offices said they are likely to invest in health technology.

Besides being an investment area, AI is also encouraging debate in the family offices space about how the technology will affect how these organizations are run. For example, Eton Solutions, a US-based firm that focuses on the family offices space, said in a February 20, 2024 report: “By leveraging AI, family offices can streamline their operations, mitigate risks, and gain new insights. From pattern recognition to predictive analytics to generative AI, this game-changing technology will serve as a strategic enabler for family offices.”

This news service recently issued a 24-page publication: Family Office Cybersecurity and AI Summit. The document is compiled by a range of authors who examine topics covering AI, security, cyber threats and more.