FedEx Is Betting on Robotics Partnerships Over In-House Development to Automate Its Warehouses

FedEx has settled on a partnership strategy for warehouse automation rather than building proprietary robotics in-house, with its latest deal being a multi-year collaboration with SoftBank-owned Berkshire Grey to develop Scoop, a bulk package unloading robot that will begin piloting at FedEx facilities later this year. The company also works with Dexterity for human-like picking robots, Nimble for fully autonomous warehouse operations, and Aurora Innovation for autonomous trucking, having completed more than 3,200 autonomous loads on Texas routes since 2021. Notably, FedEx says it has no interest in humanoid robots for now, with its VP of advanced technology arguing that the orchestration complexity of multiple humanoids in a dynamic warehouse environment makes them impractical at this stage despite the hype.