Amazon is betting that the future of warehouse automation begins with a conversation. 

The company is investing more than $11.6 billion over the next few years to expand its European fulfillment network and bring a new generation of robots to warehouse floors that can listen, learn and work alongside humans. The company’s next-generation Proteus is an autonomous mobile robot capable of understanding conversational language, transporting loads weighing nearly 400 kilograms, and moving throughout Amazon’s vast logistics operations.

The announcement comes as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is making a major AI push through Project Prometheus, a newly launched AI company focused on applying the technology to engineering and manufacturing.

Imagine walking up to a warehouse robot and speaking to it as naturally as you would a co-worker. “Take these containers to receiving,” or “Move those carts to shipping.” No coding. No specialized commands. No touchscreen interface.

“You tell it what needs to be done. It figures out the priority, the route, the timing,” said Scott Dresser, vice president of Amazon Robotics. “It becomes your assistant for material movement.”

The original Proteus operates in dock areas of fulfillment centers. The next generation is designed to work virtually anywhere items need to be transported, from receiving areas and workstations to fulfillment centers and delivery sites.

Proteus is intended to handle physically demanding tasks that often require employees to push heavy loads, lift bulky items and cover long distances during a shift. Amazon says automating those repetitive movements allows workers to focus on higher-skilled responsibilities such as inventory management and quality control. Proteus is currently being piloted in Amazon laboratories and is scheduled for deployment across Europe during the first half of 2027. 

Proteus is one piece of a larger robotics strategy. As part of its European expansion, Amazon is introducing a growing fleet of machines designed to work alongside employees, including STARK, a robotic tote-handling system that lifts full totes from conveyors and places them onto carts. After being piloted in Barcelona, Spain, STARK is expected to expand to 15 sites across Europe by the end of 2027.

Amazon is also expanding Vulcan, a robotic system that company engineers describe as a major advancement in physical AI. Unlike conventional industrial robots, which primarily rely on cameras and pre-programmed movements, Vulcan combines computer vision with a sense of touch. Sensors allow the machine to detect contact with objects and measure how much force it is applying, enabling it to handle products with greater precision.

“Vulcan represents a fundamental leap forward in robotics,” said Aaron Parness, Amazon’s director of applied science. “It’s not just seeing the world, it’s feeling it, enabling capabilities that were impossible for Amazon robots until now.”

The technology was developed to solve a common challenge inside Amazon fulfillment centers. Products are stored in densely packed compartments, making them difficult for robots to retrieve without damaging surrounding items.

Using force-feedback sensors and AI models trained on physical interactions, Vulcan can manipulate objects, create space within storage bins and pick products with a level of dexterity previously associated with human workers, states Amazon.

The robot is already operating at Amazon facilities in Hamburg, Germany, and Spokane, Washington. There, it handles inventory stored in upper and lower sections of storage pods, reducing the need for employees to climb ladders or repeatedly bend to retrieve items.

Amazon says the goal is to improve workplace ergonomics while increasing efficiency.

The company’s growing reliance on robotics inevitably raises questions about the future of human labor. Automation has long fueled concerns that machines will replace workers, particularly in warehouses. On the corporate side, Amazon cut approximately 30,000 corporate workers over the past year.

But as part of this latest investment package, the company plans to add 25,000 jobs across its European fulfillment network in the coming years. Company officials say robotics has created new categories of work ranging from maintenance technicians and reliability engineers to robotics specialists and automation experts.

Amazon is also expanding its workforce training efforts. The company recently announced a $1 billion investment in its Career Choice program through 2030. The initiative provides fully funded education and training opportunities in fields such as cybersecurity, software development, logistics, renewable energy and mechatronics.

More than 300,000 employees worldwide have participated in the program, according to Amazon.

Executives say the strategy is not to eliminate workers but to shift them toward more technical and higher-value roles while robots assume physically demanding tasks.

“This transformation is designed to deliver a step change in how we support our employees and serve our customers,” said Armin Cossmann, Amazon’s vice president of operations for Europe.

The investment underscores Amazon’s continued focus on growing its European presence. The company says it invested more than 60 billion euros across Europe in 2025.