Amazon buys Rivr, the startup behind stair-climbing delivery robots

Rivr, a Zurich-based autonomous robotics startup recognised for developing a stair-climbing delivery robot, has been acquired by Amazon, underscoring the company’s growing focus on last-mile and doorstep delivery solutions. The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

Rivr co-founder and CEO Marko Bjelonic shared the announcement on LinkedIn, while The Information was the first to report on the deal.

In his statement, Bjelonic explained that joining Amazon will help accelerate the company’s broader vision. He said the acquisition would “accelerate our vision of building General Physical AI through doorstep delivery, bringing robotics and AI closer to real-world deployment at scale,” suggesting that Amazon’s infrastructure and resources could enable Rivr’s technology to reach more users more quickly.

Rivr had already begun testing its technology in real-world environments. In the previous year, the company launched a pilot program in Austin in collaboration with Veho, a package delivery service provider. At that time, Bjelonic noted that the partnership was intended to provide insights to support scaling operations and to deploy up to 100 robots by 2026. It remains unclear whether the company achieved that target before the acquisition.

Amazon had shown interest in Rivr well before the deal was finalised. The company’s Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, along with Bezos Expeditions, participated in Rivr’s $22.2 million seed funding round in 2024, according to data from PitchBook.

Overall, Rivr had raised approximately $25 million in funding before its acquisition and was last valued at around $100 million.