Amazon acquires startup Rivr to test robots for 'doorstep delivery'

Amazon has acquired Rivr, a Swiss robotics company developing machines for "doorstep delivery," the company confirmed Thursday. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Amazon quietly purchased the company earlier this week, but it didn't publicize the acquisition. It announced the deal in a notice sent to third-party delivery contractors. "We want to share that we've recently acquired RIVR, a company focused on technology that can help with doorstep delivery," Amazon wrote in the notice viewed by CNBC. "We believe this technology, when working alongside your [delivery associates], has the potential to further improve safety outcomes and the overall customer experience, particularly in the last steps of the delivery process." 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. The Information was first to report on the deal. The company relies on a network of thousands of third-party contractors that deliver packages exclusively for Amazon. These contractors are responsible for the so-called last mile portion of deliveries, meaning the process of ferrying packages from an Amazon warehouse to the customer's doorstep. Amazon has spent more than a decade investing in automating more aspects of its warehouse operations. Amazon Robotics, the unit dedicated to these efforts, was formed after it acquired Kiva Systems, a manufacturer of warehouse robots, for $775 million in 2012. Last October, the company said it had deployed more than 1 million robots across its operations network. In its notice to delivery service partner owners, Amazon said Rivr's technology, which includes a four-legged robot on wheels, will allow it to research and test how the devices can be integrated into delivery operations, including "helping DAs carry packages from delivery vehicles to customer doorsteps.""We are in the early stages of this journey, and as we progress, we will engage you and our teams to help us field test this technology, gathering real-world insights and incorporating your feedback into how we scale this technology in the future," the company wrote. Amazon previously invested in Rivr through its $1 billion Industrial Innovation Fund, which was launched in 2022 to back warehouse and logistics technologies. Bezos Expeditions, the venture capital firm started by Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, also participated in Rivr's $22 million seed round last March. Rivr was formerly known as Swiss-Mile.

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