Amazon has acquired robotics company RIVR, marking a strategic move to accelerate the development of physical AI systems designed for real-world deployment, particularly in last-mile delivery.
The announcement was shared by RIVR CEO Marko Bjelonic, who confirmed that the company is now part of Amazon. The acquisition is expected to advance RIVR’s core mission of building “General Physical AI,” with a focus on enabling autonomous systems to operate effectively in complex, real-world environments such as doorstep delivery.
RIVR has been developing next-generation robotics platforms capable of navigating dynamic outdoor environments while collecting valuable data to improve AI performance at scale. By integrating these capabilities into Amazon’s broader logistics and technology infrastructure, the combined effort aims to accelerate robotics toward widespread commercial deployment.
The deal also highlights Amazon’s continued investment in automation and AI across its fulfillment and delivery network. With increasing demand for faster, more efficient last-mile solutions, robotics platforms like those developed by RIVR could play a key role in improving operational efficiency and scalability.
RIVR’s leadership emphasized that joining Amazon provides the resources and platform needed to accelerate innovation, expand deployment, and bring advanced robotics systems into everyday use cases.
KEY QUOTE:
“I’m excited to share that Amazon RIVR 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. A huge thank you to the entire RIVR team for the incredible dedication, resilience, and hard work that made this possible. A special thank you to Giorgio Valsecchi, Lorenz Wellhausen, and Alexander Reske for taking the leap together from day one and building RIVR side by side. I’m incredibly proud of what RIVR built, and even more excited about what we will accomplish next at Amazon.”
Marko Bjelonic, CEO of Amazon RIVR
