Amazon Scoops Up Rivr: The Vision Behind a Stair-Climbing Delivery Robot
In a noteworthy move for the world of last-mile delivery, Amazon has officially acquired Rivr, a Zürich-based startup renowned for its innovative stair-climbing delivery robot. Though the financial specifics of the acquisition remain under wraps, the move reflects Amazon’s ongoing commitment to enhancing doorstep delivery solutions.
Marko Bjelonic, Rivr’s co-founder and CEO, previously likened the robot’s unique design to a “dog on roller skates” while speaking to TechCrunch. He shared the acquisition announcement through a post on LinkedIn, where he expressed enthusiasm for leveraging Amazon’s vast resources to expedite Rivr’s vision of integrating General Physical AI into everyday life.
According to Bjelonic, the partnership aims to bring cutting-edge robotics and AI closer to practical applications, enabling more efficient deliveries right to consumers’ doorsteps. With Amazon’s assistance, Rivr aspires to accelerate its deployment and expand its fleet of delivery robots—an endeavor he began testing last year in collaboration with Veho, a leading package delivery service in Austin. During this pilot, Bjelonic shared hopes of scaling production to 100 robots by 2026, although the current status of that goal remains uncertain.
But Amazon’s interest in Rivr precedes this acquisition. The company was already on their radar after the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and Bezos Expeditions invested in Rivr’s $22.2 million seed funding round in 2024. Overall, Rivr has raised approximately $25 million and was last evaluated at around $100 million.
As Rivr and Amazon gear up for the future, the e-commerce titan seems poised to continue revolutionizing the way packages are delivered to consumers—one stair step at a time.