AMAZON CEO: 'I Want To See Millions Of People Living And Working In Space'

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has an ambitious vision for the future of humanity.

When asked about why space exploration appears to be a common interest among tech entrepreneurs such as himself, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Bezos replied with the following:

"We are really evolved to be pioneers," Bezos told Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget at this year's Ignition conference. "And for good reason. New worlds have a way of saving old worlds... And that's how it should be. We need the frontier. My vision is I want to see millions of people living and working in space."

Bezos' private spaceflight company Blue Origin is currently working with the United Launch Alliance to build a new liquid rocket engine called the BE-4. The United Launch Alliance is said to be one of the biggest rivals to Musk's commercial spaceflight company SpaceX.

The vehicle Bezos' company is working on uses a modern booster engine, which is said to be more efficient than those made 20-30 years ago, reports The Washington Post. Bezos also said the vehicle is autonomous, so there's no need to send test pilots when they're running trials with it.

Although companies such as Blue Origin and SpaceX are making progress when it comes to space exploration, Bezos says there's no specific time frame for when he'll venture into outer space. His response when asked at Ignition was "when we're ready."

"This is not a business where you can rush things or cut corners," he said.

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.