Amazon has established a new research and development group focused on “agentic AI” (autonomous decision-making artificial intelligence) within its consumer products division. The group was announced four days ago in a CNBC report and will operate out of Amazon’s Lab126 division, which has been involved in the development of devices like the Echo and Kindle.
The fact that Lab126 is a hardware R&D division responsible for physical products, especially Echo and Kindle, explains why this group is based there. Amazon aims for this agentic AI framework to empower warehouse robots with smarter capabilities: enabling them to perform multi-step and complex tasks without human intervention.
According to an article by Investopedia, agentic AI differs from chatbots by executing multi-step operations, and Amazon plans to apply this system to warehouse robots.
Group’s goal and perspective
Robots that understand natural language commands: Amazon’s goal is to transform robots from performing specific functions into “intelligent assistants” capable of interacting through natural language.
This could strengthen Amazon’s robotic supply chain and create more efficient and flexible warehouse systems.
This new initiative demonstrates the expansion of Amazon’s agentic AI strategy. Amazon Web Services (AWS) had previously established its own agentic AI division. AWS CEO Matt Garman stated that agentic AI “could be the next multi-billion dollar business for AWS.”
The new agentic AI and robotics group established at Amazon’s Lab126 appears to be the company’s next major step in integrating artificial intelligence and physical robotics. It is crucial both technically and practically for enhancing robots’ ability to adapt to human demands and to operate more autonomously.
This expanded approach could place Amazon among companies offering the most advanced solutions in robotic operations and set new standards for automation in e-commerce warehouses.
