Amazon is launching a $1 billion fund that will support companies building supply chain, fulfillment and logistics technologies.
The Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund is focused on investing in companies that are developing technology that to increase delivery speed and further improve the experience of warehouse and logistics employees.
The fund is one subset of Amazon’s growing investment activity.
The company in 2020 launched a $2 billion fund to invest in climate technologies, and it operates the Alexa Fund, which has made investments in speech-recognition technology, among other areas.
Amazon in 2012 acquired a company called Kiva Systems which created wheeled robots for warehouses.
Since then, Amazon has launched a number of robotic fulfillment centers with the aim of speeding up delivery of products to consumers.
Last year, it shared details of four warehouse robots it’s testing to reduce strenuous movements for workers.
