Following an investment two years ago, Amazon has acquired ETH Zurich spin-off RIVR Technologies AG. The company has developed and trained their quadrupedal robots to walk, drive, stand upright on two legs and manipulate packages with wheeled end effectors. The robots are in use in several countries.
Rivr is pioneering General Physical AI by deploying robots in last-mile delivery. Currently, delivery drivers can spend most of their time navigating short distances from their vans to customers’ front doors, often managing multiple nearby drop-offs. RIVR’s autonomous robotic companion is designed to streamline this process by handling these final steps, reducing the need for repetitive short-distance walking, alleviating driver fatigue while increasing parcel throughput and efficiency.
In 2024, Jeff Bezos and the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund invested in RIVR as part of a USD 22 million funding round. Amazon has now acquired the ETH spin-off. The tech news site The Information was the first to report on the acquisition. The transaction was confirmed to CNBC. An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement that the acquisition “reflects our commitment to a continued investment in research” and efforts to improve safety for its delivery employees.
In a LinkedIn post RIVR CEO Marko Bjelonic commented: “I’m excited to share that RIVR, an Amazon company is now part of Amazon, marking the start of an exciting new chapter for our team. This step will accelerate our vision of building General Physical AI through doorstep delivery, bringing robotics and AI closer to real-world deployment at scale.”
The deal is likely to further boost interest in Switzerland as a hub for robotics. The Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund has also already identified another promising start-up in Switzerland. It has invested in Algorized. The technology of the Lausanne-based start-up allows robots to “see” through occlusion, dust, and darkness – navigating complex, shared human environments while eliminating unnecessary stops.
(Stefan Kyora)