Amazon recently strategically acquired some assets of robotics startup Covariant, a move aimed at improving its competitiveness in the field of logistics automation. The acquisition not only obtained a technology license for Covariant’s basic robot model, but more importantly, it absorbed Covariant’s founding team and about a quarter of its employees, injecting fresh blood into Amazon’s AI and robotics teams. The specific financial details of this transaction have not been made public, but Covariant's valuation in April 2023 has reached US$625 million, which shows its technical strength and market potential.
Amazon recently announced a major strategic move, acquiring a non-exclusive license to robotics startup Covariant and bringing about a quarter of its employees under its wing.
The core of this deal is that Amazon hopes to use Covariant's basic robot model to enhance its innovation capabilities in the field of automation. Covariant's founding team, including Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen and Rocky Duan, will join Amazon's artificial intelligence and robotics teams in Silicon Valley.
Note: The picture comes from Covariant official video screenshot
Amazon currently has as many as 750,000 robots deployed in its logistics centers, and this acquisition aims to further improve the safety and adaptability of these robots. Amazon said that through its cooperation with Covariant, it is expected to accelerate innovation in the field of automation and attract more top artificial intelligence talents.
While Covariant is transferring some of its talent to Amazon, it will continue to support existing customers and continue to develop its warehouse automation technology. However, the entire departure of the founding team makes the acquisition feel like an almost complete acquisition, although specific financial details have not been made public. It is reported that Covariant was valued at US$625 million in its last round of financing in April 2023.
Not only Amazon, but other technology giants such as Apple, OpenAI and Google DeepMind are also increasing investment in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. For example, Apple is developing a desktop device equipped with a robotic arm and a large display, which is expected to be launched in 2026 or 2027. The device is designed to simplify everyday tasks, like adjusting the screen angle during a video call or browsing recipes. OpenAI collaborated with the robotics company Figure to launch the latest humanoid robot Figure02, with plans to promote humanoid robots in the workplace and at home. Google DeepMind continues to develop robots and their control models that can cope with complex environments, demonstrating the ability to navigate freely in new environments.
The expectation of these technology companies to combine robots with large language models is to improve efficiency and open up new application scenarios, especially in industry and daily life. It remains to be seen whether this integration can run effectively in actual applications. observe.
Highlight:
Amazon acquired Covariant, taking away the founding team and some employees to enhance robot safety and adaptability.
Covariant will continue to serve existing customers and develop warehouse automation technology.
Other giants in the industry are also increasing investment in robots and AI and exploring new application scenarios.
Amazon’s move demonstrates its determination to continue investing in the fields of automation and artificial intelligence, and also indicates that the deep integration of robotics and AI technology will bring more innovations and applications in the future. However, this integration also faces challenges, and the maturity of the technology and the actual effect of market application remain to be further observed. The future development of Covariant and how Amazon integrates its technology will be the focus of attention.