Amazon CEO Touts Robotics as Key to Faster Delivery and Lower Costs

On the left is the RIVR TWO robot, and on the right is Fauna Robotics' Sprout. | Sources: RIVR, Fauna Robotics

In his 2026 letter to shareholders, Amazon.com Inc. CEO Andy Jassy outlined the company's strategic focus on robotics. He emphasized that Amazon is continuously seeking ways to reduce costs and accelerate delivery times, viewing robotics as a pivotal component in achieving these objectives.

“While we remain focused on improving productivity and optimizing inventory, robotics represents a transformative leap forward,” Jassy wrote. “It enables us to deliver faster, lower the costs associated with a wider product selection, and automate tasks that can lead to strain or injury for our employees.”

Amazon currently operates over one million robots across its fulfillment centers, where they assist with stowing, picking, sorting, and internal transportation. Despite this significant deployment, Jassy believes the company is only at the beginning of realizing robotics' full potential.

Amazon plans to invest in rural and rapid deliveries

Last month, Amazon acquired RIVR, a developer of wheeled quadruped robots designed for last-step doorstep delivery.

RIVR first attracted Amazon's attention in 2024 when Jeff Bezos led a $22 million seed investment round through Bezos Expeditions and HongShan. Following the discontinuation of its own Scout delivery robot program in 2022, Amazon appears to be seeking a new robotic solution for final-yard deliveries.

The company is significantly increasing its investment in delivery infrastructure, with a particular focus on expanding its rural network. Jassy announced that Amazon will allocate $4 billion to this expansion. Upon completion, the e-commerce giant aims to deliver an additional one billion packages annually to customers across more than 13,000 ZIP codes, covering an area of 1.2 million square miles (3.1 million square kilometers).

Amazon also plans to launch its "Amazon Now" service—which promises delivery of thousands of items within 20 minutes—in the United States and Europe. The service has already gained traction in markets like India and the United Arab Emirates.

As Amazon accelerates its delivery capabilities on multiple fronts, it is creating opportunities to integrate more robots into its growing logistics network.

The company continues to develop Prime Air, its drone delivery service. Jassy stated that Amazon “aims to serve communities with 30 million customers by the end of this year and projects delivering 500 million packages by the decade's end,” with a target delivery time of 30 minutes.

Will Amazon take another bet on consumer robots?

Jassy noted that Amazon will continue to innovate in robot design, diverse applications, agility, grasping capabilities, and intelligence. The company also plans to leverage its extensive scale and the real-world data from its fulfillment network robots to develop robotics systems for other industrial and consumer clients.

While Jassy did not elaborate on specific designs, Amazon recently acquired humanoid robot developer Fauna Robotics. Fauna's Sprout platform is intended for research, not direct consumer use, but Amazon stated it is taking a “deliberate and measured approach to genuinely understand the potential of personal robots.”

Historically, Amazon has faced challenges in the consumer robotics space. In 2021, it launched Astro, a small robot designed for home security, remote care, and as a virtual assistant. However, Astro has yet to achieve widespread adoption.

Furthermore, Amazon abandoned its acquisition of robotic vacuum maker iRobot in 2024 due to antitrust regulatory concerns.

Editor’s note: Aaron Parness, Director of Applied Science at Amazon Robotics, will deliver the opening keynote on “Building Reliable Robots at Scale” and attend the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards Dinner at next month's Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston. Registration is now open.