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Rivr, a Zurich-based autonomous robotics startup known for its stair-climbing delivery robot, has been acquired by Amazon in a deal that signals the e-commerce giant\u2019s interest in doorstep delivery. Terms of the deal weren\u2019t disclosed.<\/p>\n
Co-founder and CEO Marko Bjelonic, who once described the four-legged wheeled robot to TechCrunch as a \u201cdog on roller skates<\/a>,\u201d shared the acquisition news on LinkedIn<\/a>. The Information was first to report the deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bjelonic said in his LinkedIn post that the acquisition will \u201caccelerate our vision of building General Physical AI through doorstep delivery, bringing robotics and AI closer to real-world deployment at scale,\u201d meaning, in plain terms, that Amazon\u2019s resources should help Rivr get its robots onto more doorsteps, faster.<\/p>\n Last year, Rivr launched a pilot program in Austin with Veho, a package delivery company. Bjelonic said, at the time, he hoped to learn from the partnership with Veho and eventually scale to 100 bots by 2026. It\u2019s unclear if the company was ever able to reach that milestone.<\/p>\n TechCrunch has reached out to Rivr for comment. <\/p>\n Rivr got the attention of Amazon long before its pilot program. The Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and Bezos Expeditions invested in Rivr as part of a $22.2 million seed round that closed in 2024, according to PitchBook. The startup, which had raised a total of $25 million, was last valued at $100 million.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n