Warehouse
Amazon took a non-exclusive licence to Covariant's AI models and hired its three co-founders and about a quarter of its staff. It was not a full purchase of the company.
A dated step forward on the record
What the source says
“Through our agreement, Amazon is receiving a non-exclusive license to Covariant’s robotic foundation models.”
What it means
Covariant Brain, from Covariant, is at stage 4 of 5 on our ladder: paying customers. Its stage is set by other milestones on its record; this one adds to the history.
Human help: The maker hasn't said whether people help it remotely.
More on Covariant Brain
- About a quarter of Covariant's employees were expected to move to Amazon; Covariant said it would keep operating with its former COO, Ted Stinson, as CEO.
- Covariant launched RFM-1, an AI model for robots trained partly on data from its warehouse robots.
- German online retailer Otto Group agreed to use 120 Covariant-powered robots across its warehouses, starting with two sites in Germany.
- Covariant raised $75 million more, bringing its total funding to $222 million.
- Logistics firm Radial installed 12 Covariant robot sorting stations at its warehouse in Louisville, Kentucky, to sort health and beauty items.
- Covariant teamed up with robot maker ABB; their first joint system was being installed at Active Ants.