Building on Australia’s legacy of industrial breakthroughs like Wi-Fi and the black box flight recorder, Amazon is inviting local entrepreneurs to take part in its US$1 billion Industrial Innovation Fund.
The Fund, launched in 2022, backs emerging technologies in warehouse automation and supply chain operations. Recent investments include Rightbot, which is developing a system to automate container unloading, and Instock, which offers a robotic storage and retrieval system to improve inventory management.
In 2024, the Fund launched a series of Innovation Challenges to uncover real-world solutions in logistics and automation. The first challenge focused on improving packaging visibility without slowing delivery speeds, with selected participants including Spectrohm, Lumafield, and ThruWave. A second challenge addressed congestion in Amazon’s Middle Mile yards, identifying solutions for truck flow optimisation from companies like Velostics and EAIGLE.
Franziska Bossart, who leads the Industrial Innovation Fund, said in an interview that advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and perception systems are enabling broader automation across warehouse environments. She noted that collaborative technologies – where humans and machines work side by side – can improve operational efficiency while enhancing workplace safety.
Amazon continues to expand its last mile network in Australia and says technologies like Sequoia, a system that automates inventory containerisation, will allow it to process goods faster and create new career opportunities in tech-enabled roles.
Further Innovation Challenges are in development, including one focused on First Mile operations in Europe. Details are available on Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund webpage.
