Covariant Company Profile: History, Funding, Technology and the Amazon Deal
Updated: Oct 15
Covariant is an AI company whose software lets robot arms pick and sort items they have never seen before. Founded in 2017 by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, it raised USD 222 million before Amazon licensed its technology and hired its founders in August 2024. This profile sets out its history, funding, technology and that deal.
Covariant at a Glance
Fact | Detail |
Company | Covariant, founded as Embodied Intelligence |
Founded | 2017 |
Founders | Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, Rocky Duan and Tianhao Zhang |
Headquarters | Emeryville, California, USA |
Funding | USD 222 million in total |
Valuation | USD 625 million at its 2023 round |
Products | Covariant Brain and RFM-1 |
Stock listing | None |
Company History
Pieter Abbeel had directed the Robot Learning Lab at Berkeley since 2008, and in 2017 he and three colleagues founded the company to apply that research to real warehouses. From 2018 it collected data from robot arms working in warehouses around the world. A partnership with ABB followed in February 2020, and the company's software was adopted by the integrator Knapp, the fulfillment company Radial and the retailer Otto Group.
Key milestones
2017: Founded as Embodied Intelligence.
2020: ABB partnership; Series B.
2021: Series C.
2023: USD 75 million round at a USD 625 million valuation.
March 2024: RFM-1 launched.
August 2024: Amazon licensing and hiring deal announced.
Funding
Round | Amount |
Founding round | USD 7 million, from Amplify Partners and others |
Series A | USD 20 million |
Series B, May 2020 | USD 40 million, led by Index Ventures |
Series C, July 2021 | USD 80 million |
April 2023 | USD 75 million |
Technology
Product | Description |
Covariant Brain | AI software that drives robot arms for goods-to-person picking, kitting, depalletizing, item induction and order sortation |
RFM-1 | Robotics Foundation Model 1, launched in March 2024 and trained on text, images, video, robot actions and sensor data |
The Amazon Deal
On August 30, 2024, Amazon announced a non-exclusive license to Covariant's technology. It hired about a quarter of Covariant's employees, and founders Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen and Rocky Duan joined Amazon.
The financial terms were not published. A whistleblower complaint in 2025 alleged a price of USD 380 million plus a final licensing payment of USD 20 million, and described the arrangement as a reverse acquihire structured to avoid antitrust review; those claims are allegations and have not been confirmed.
The practical effect is that Covariant's best-known people now work at Amazon, while the company itself continues as a separate entity whose activity is much reduced.
Strengths and Challenges
Strengths
Leading research in robot learning.
A large body of real warehouse data.
Technology now licensed to the world's largest warehouse operator.
Challenges
The departure of its founders and a quarter of its staff.
An uncertain future as an independent business.
Covariant FAQ
Did Amazon buy Covariant?
Not formally. In August 2024 Amazon took a non-exclusive license to Covariant's technology and hired its founders and about a quarter of its employees.
Who founded Covariant?
Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, Rocky Duan and Tianhao Zhang, in 2017.
How much funding did Covariant raise?
USD 222 million in total.
What is RFM-1?
Covariant's Robotics Foundation Model 1, an AI model for robots launched in March 2024.
What is the Covariant Brain?
AI software that enables robot arms to pick, sort and handle varied items in warehouses.
