Amazon in licensing deal with AI robotics start-up Covariant, hires co-founders

Robots play an active role in Amazon fulfillment.

Amazon is continuing to grow its AI and robotics team in the Bay Area.

The online giant is hiring three co-founders of Covariant, a start-up that builds AI for advanced warehouse robotics systems, and about one-quarter of its current employees. In addition, Amazon has signed a non-exclusive license to utilize robotic foundation models from Covariant that enable robots to see, reason and act on events happening around them. 

According to Amazon, Covariant’s models will help generalize how its robotic systems learn and enable it to use automation to make operations safer and customer delivery faster and more accurate.

Covariant co-founders Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, Rocky Duan and a group of the company’s research scientists and engineers will join Amazon’s fulfillment technologies and robotics team to help drive the development and implementation of the company’s technology within Amazon. Covariant will continue operating as normal and developing technology that supports fulfillment and distribution center automation.

“We’re excited to welcome some of Covariant’s talented team to Amazon and look forward to building on this technology with them to deliver the next generation of robotics that will drive forward the state-of-the-art in automation,” said Joseph Quinlivan, VP, Amazon fulfillment technologies & robotics., in a corporate blog post. 

Amazon focuses on next-gen fulfillment center robotics

Amazon has been actively developing new, leading-edge robotic solutions for use in its fulfillment centers. The e-tailer previously said it has over 750,000 robots working collaboratively with its employees, taking on highly repetitive tasks. 

[READ MORE: First Look at Amazon’s new robotic fulfillment hub in Mass.]

Examples of fulfillment center robot models include the following:

Titan

Amazon leverages a mobile robot called Titan at a fulfillment center in San Antonio. Titan helps carry products across the center including larger, bulkier items like small household appliances or pallets of pet food and gardening equipment. 

Digit

In September 2022, Amazon began testing Agility Robotics’ bipendal robot, Digit, at its robotics research and development site south of Seattle. These are mobile robots which are built in a human-like shape and can move like a person while also grasping and handling items with robotic “arms” resembling a human.