Amazon acquires Rivr, maker of stair-climbing delivery robots

Rivr, a Zurich-based autonomous robotics startup known for its stair-climbing delivery robots, has been acquired by Amazon, signaling the company’s interest in doorstep delivery. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Co-founder and CEO Marko Bjelonic, who once described quadruped robots to TechCrunch as “dogs on roller skates,” shared news of the acquisition on LinkedIn. Information first reported the transaction.

Bjelonic said in a LinkedIn post that the acquisition will “accelerate our vision of building general physical AI with doorstep delivery and bring robotics and AI closer to real-world deployments at scale.” That means Amazon’s resources should help Rivr get its robots to more doorsteps faster.

Last year, Rivr launched a pilot program in Austin with package delivery company Veho. Bjelonic said at the time that it hoped to learn from its partnership with Veho and eventually expand to 100 bots by 2026. It’s unclear whether the company was able to reach that milestone.

TechCrunch has reached out to Rivr for comment.

Rivr caught Amazon’s attention long before the pilot program began. 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 has raised a total of $25 million, was last valued at $100 million.