Dan Kohn's Blog

Insider (2/11, Stone) reports Amazon’s warehouse robots have significantly evolved since the company’s acquisition of Kiva Systems in 2012. Amazon now operates more than 750,000 robots that perform various tasks, including transporting packages, sorting items, and creating fit-to-size packaging. Amazon’s robotics workforce has expanded to more than 16,000 employees, with technology advancements like the autonomous mobile robot Proteus. Tye Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics, emphasized that “we can have faster delivery times because of the work that we’ve done in robotics,” allowing the company to save an estimated $10 billion annually by 2030. Amazon’s commitment to innovation includes hiring founders from robotics startup Covariant and launching the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, which has a “commitment for more than $1 billion for our startups” to foster emerging technologies.