During the presentation of its third quarter 2025 results, and after announcing the elimination of 14,000 positions in the group, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy detailed more precisely the rise of robotics and automation in the group’s operations, now at the heart of its productivity and growth strategy.
The company today has more than a million robots in its global distribution network. Data which illustrates the massive transformation of its logistics model undertaken for several years. These systems are no longer limited to sorting or moving packages, and now participate in the planning, monitoring and optimization of flows, with a logic ofEmbedded AI or “physical AI”, where each robot acts as a node in a self-learning network.
For Andy Jassy, the objective is not to replace machines with employees, but to recompose the human value chain around tasks with higher added value. “Robots improve safety, productivity and speed, while allowing our people to focus on solving problems,” he explained.
This development takes place in a context where the company is reorganizing its global logistics network to speed up delivery timesparticularly in the United States, where the generalization of regional hubs and the introduction of delivery of fresh products within a few hours are accompanied by an increasing use of robotics.
In the longer term, Amazon sees “physical AI” as a way to rethink global logistics as an intelligent, self-optimizing system. The company is investing heavily in advanced robotics, vision systems and energy infrastructure capable of powering this automation on a massive scale. For Andy Jassy, it is about preparing the next generation of supply chains, where each movement, each warehouse and each robot become sources of data integrated into the economic management of the group.
2012 – Acquisition of Kiva Systems
Amazon buys American startup Kiva Systems to $775 millionmarking the start of large-scale robotization of its warehouses. Kiva robots move entire shelves to operators, reducing order preparation times.
2015 – Creation of Amazon Robotics
Kiva becomes Amazon Roboticswith engineering centers in North Reading And Westborough, Massachusetts. The company internalizes the design of its own autonomous machines and navigation systems.
2019 – Pegasus deployment
Amazon introduces Pegasusa compact robot intended for automated parcel sorting. More than 200,000 robots are then in service in the group’s warehouses.
2021 – Launch of Proteus
First fully autonomous mobile robot allowed to move freely among employees without physical barriers, thanks to 3D vision and real-time motion detection.
2022 – Introduction of Cardinal
Robotic arm capable of grab, lift and sort packages up to 25 kg. Cardinal strengthens the sorting phase before shipments.
2023 – Sparrow, AI at arm’s length
Amazon presents Sparrowa robotic arm equipped with computer vision and machine learning, capable of recognize more than a million product references.
2024 – Transition to “Physical AI”
Amazon extends its robotics towards a logic ofIntegrated physical AI : each robot becomes a node of a global learning system, connected to the AWS cloud.
2025 – 1 million robots in activity
Amazon’s global logistics network reaches more than a million robots. Objective: a self-optimized logisticscombining artificial intelligence, robotics, and dedicated energy infrastructure.
