Bloomberg reviews the demise of Amazon Scout, the delightfully-shaped last-mile sidewalk supply robotic.
Amazon spokesperson Alisa Carroll mentioned the Scout staff was being disbanded and could be provided new jobs within the group. About 400 folks had been engaged on the venture globally, in keeping with the particular person, who requested anonymity to debate a non-public matter. A skeleton crew will proceed to think about the concept of an autonomous robotic, however the present iteration isn’t working.
400 folks is a fairly enormous venture — nicely past Amazon’s well-known “two pizza” rule. That additionally raises the query of how large the remaining “skeleton crew” can be.
Bloomberg places this information within the context of a broader Amazon initiative to reign in far-flung experiments, in mild of slower development in its core enterprise. Amazon is winding down its well being care service, amongst different ventures.
No information on whether or not Amazon Prime Air drone supply may be subsequent for cutbacks.