RIVR (formerly Swiss-Mile)

RIVR has one of those stories that rarely happen in robotics: from university spin-off to acquisition by a giant in about three years. The Zurich company, formerly Swiss-Mile, grew out of ETH Zurich and was formally founded in 2023. Instead of a humanoid it built a four-legged robot on wheels, a mix of a dog's agility and a vehicle's speed, designed for deliveries over the so-called last hundred meters, from the van to the customer's door. The Milo model is based on the Unitree B2 hardware platform. The company raised about USD 22 million in funding and tested its solution with the British courier Evri in Barnsley, while the ONE robot ran in a pilot with Swiss Post in Regensdorf. In March 2026 RIVR was acquired by Amazon. There is thus no question of a classic market entry: the robots serve only the operator's internal logistics. The old name Swiss-Mile disappeared, and the story fits the trend described in the article “Quadruped Robots: Uses in Inspection, Security and Industry”. Amazon is the background hero here: it bought a team that understands how a robot should handle stairs and curbs, which is often the last and most expensive leg of delivery.

Two models are listed, both at pilot stage. RIVR Milo is a wheeled-legged four-legged delivery robot based on the Unitree B2, shown in 2025 and tested with the courier Evri in Barnsley in a scenario of parcels delivered from the van to the door. Picture the steps in front of an apartment block, which the robot rolls down on wheels instead of avoiding them. RIVR ONE is a model with a 30 kg payload, tested with Swiss Post in Regensdorf. After the Amazon acquisition both are an internal tool of the operator and are not offered commercially. In hardware terms Milo descends from the Unitree Robotics platform, known for the smaller Unitree Go2. For comparison there is the Starship Delivery Robot, which rolls along sidewalks on wheels, without legs. This layout has its limits: wheels are fast and efficient on flat ground, while legs help where stairs begin. That is why the solution is often presented as a compromise between a sidewalk robot and a classic four-legged one. How it copes in rain, snow or an urban crowd is not described publicly, and those are key questions for the Polish climate. A 30 kg load for the ONE is enough for several parcels, but not for a pallet.

The funding picture is clear: about USD 22 million raised up to the Amazon acquisition in March 2026, which makes RIVR one of the few companies on this list with a confirmed, large exit. The transaction value is not disclosed. Customers are pilot partners: Evri in the UK and Swiss Post. In last-mile delivery, Starship Technologies competes with small sidewalk robots, as does Serve Robotics. From the ETH family also comes ANYbotics with its ANYbotics ANYmal D model, although that one serves industrial inspection. RIVR's business model assumed from the start a service to an operator, not robot sales. The Amazon acquisition changes the balance of power: RIVR stops being a rival in sales and becomes an element of competition in logistics. For courier firms in Europe it is a signal that last-leg deliveries may soon be tested at larger scale, and that Evri and Swiss Post were only the beginning.

RIVR is not available in Poland and will not be: after the Amazon acquisition the robots serve only internal logistics, and the models are marked as unavailable in the country. We know of no Polish tests or plans to enter. For Polish courier firms it matters rather as a signal of where things are heading: robots from the van to the door may one day change how a courier works. Alternatives available on the market are covered in the category “Quadruped robots”. Polish courier companies and parcel-locker operators can therefore only watch how such solutions develop in the UK and Switzerland.

RIVR is an interesting case of a university spin-off that ended up at Amazon. It shows well where delivery robotics is heading, but as a purchasing option for Poles it does not exist. Follow it as a market signal, not as a product. If you are looking for a robot for your own logistics, check the AMRs that are available. If the future of deliveries interests you, RIVR is one of the more important reference points. More on this segment in the category “Quadruped robots”.