“With some of the smartest minds, we will advance fundamental research, marrying our rich expertise to unlock new ways for AI and robots to assist our operations employees,” said Joseph Quinlivan, Vice President of Amazon Fulfillment Technologies & Robotics, in a statement. “[Embedding] Covariant’s AI technology into our existing robot fleet will make them more performant and create real world value for our customers.”

The deal sounds similar to Amazon’s hiring of the founders of AI startup Adept back in June — another deal that gave Amazon access to new talent and technology without having to fully acquire an existing startup.