Agility Robotics Partnership with Amazon Accelerates
Update on Agility Robotics and its Digit Robot.
Hey Everyone,
This week I’ve noticed a PR campaign by Amazon and for Agility Robotics. The pilot of Amazon with Agility Robotics goes back quite a ways.
Back in October, 2023 we learned Amazon began testing Agility’s Digit in a move that could bring the bipedal robot to its nationwide fulfillment centers. So what has become of those tests? Back in September, 2023 we learned that Agility Robotics was opening a first-of-its-kind factory in Salem, Oregon where it will mass produce a line of humanoid robots called Digit.
Amazon in the 2020s have an incredible opportunity testing and merging Generative AI with robotics and perhaps acquiring a few of their best pilots with robotics startups. In January, 2024 we learned that Amazon officially failed to acquire iRobot. iRobot’s stock IRBT 0.00%↑ has been in decline this year and imploding to the tune of 73% after this failure to be acquired by Amazon.
Agility Robotics has a $150 million series B back in April, 2022. Considering the recent funding of Figure AI, in robot years, that’s a long time ago. The stakes are high for these humanoid looking robots.
Amazon Allocates $1 Billion to the Robots with Advanced AI
The notion of humanoid robots working in factories no longer feels like some distant fantasy. Various videos now surface like memes on the internet about robots doing parkour, working out in factories or hopefully useful things. Then in a surprise move, in late February, 2024 we learned that Amazon’s $1 billion Industrial Innovation Fund is ramping up investments in companies that combine artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
Amazon’s stake and commitment to automating some of their more dangerous and warehouse jobs seems relatively strong, because let’s face it, retail and E-commerce are low margin businesses and last-mile logistics are extremely costly.
Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund (IFF) has already made 12 investments, including in Mantis Robotics, a company developing a robotic arm that works alongside humans, according to the report.
Are the Robots coming for E-commerce Warehouses this time?
‘Digit’ is in the midst of a test period as Amazon experiment with the capabilities of the tech. Agility, on the other hand, plans to build 10,000 robots a year and for warehouses and storerooms worldwide, with the company taking part in an investment boom that has drawn in $1.6 billion in venture capital in the last five years, the report said.
Digit is 5ft 9in (175cm), weighs 143lb (65kg), and can carry up to 35lb (16kg) in hands that can both grasp and lift. It looks relatively ahead of Tesla’s Optimus bot, judging from the videos.
This week, Agility named Microsoft veteran Peggy Johnson its second-ever CEO. With this, the company is, perhaps, unique among its peers in having female executives in five C-Suite roles. I actually know Peggy from her time at MagicLeap, a well funded VR enterprise startup, where I thought she did a pretty decent job. From spatial computing to general purpose robots, talk about a magic leap in leadership.
Matt Day of Bloomberg wrote an interesting piece that you can read here. It’s not yet available on BNN.
Then on March 6th, 2024 Amazon announced it is funding a recycling robots startup called Glacier. While Google and Apple chase buzzy Generative AI, Amazon among the magnificent seven are best positioned to become the robotics AI leader of the world. There’s an order in the madness. This is why Amazon’s pilots of robots are so interesting. These things actually align with what they do in the real world. For the record, way more than Tesla, Hyundai or Microsoft.
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