Physical AI
Picking, sorting and storage robots in working warehouses: what they cost, and what got rolled back.
At its Oct. 20 investor day, Kroger laid out an online growth plan built on 2,700 stores, faster delivery and in-store automation. Ocado's name didn't come up once.
THG Fulfil says the UK sportswear chain's new AutoStore grid beats its old manual warehouse. The figures come from the vendors, and they describe the deal two ways.
CVS says hundreds of robots now store and retrieve health and beauty products for its stores, while staff sort them. Its sorting vendor reports bigger gains, using a different site name and two versions of its cost figure.
Kroger's filings put the charge at $2.585 billion and say the network wasn't meeting "operational or financial expectations." The settlement also covers a planned site in Charlotte that won't be built.
The grocer says its Ocado-built network isn't meeting financial expectations. Three sites close in January, state notices cover more than 1,600 jobs, and orders move to stores and delivery apps.
The New York Times reported internal plans to automate 75% of operations. A day later, Amazon showed new robots and an AI agent, and in February 2026 it said one of those robots was no longer in use.
Latin America's biggest online marketplace says 125 new robots shuttle products between warehouse zones. Its earlier robot fleet came from China's Quicktron; it hasn't named this one's maker.
Amazon says Vulcan can handle most of the items it stocks and that DeepFleet will speed up its robots. The figures come from Amazon, and we found no independent check of them.