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In this sort of context I feel like "robots" is a euphemism for "automation". Software has the lowest marginal cost out of all forms of automation.

Consider robo-advisors [0], automated financial advisors written in software.

The robots are not literally robots in this story. Trading algorithms are robots. Uber's ability to connect riders and drivers is a robot.

That said, Amazon and google are in the robot hardware business literally, too.

Amazon is, but their customer is themselves. They use 50,000 robots today and that will grow fast.

Google doesn't sell robots. I don't know if they use them, apart from a few for research.

Their web spider is a robot. We are far past the time when humans could catalog that much change.

A self driving car is a robot, they will be selling that in a near future if Google themselves are to be believed.

Oops yes of course. I stupidly forgot about them. They spun them out from the Google brand and also my brain.

fwiw Amazon owns and invests in warehouse automation robots.

To truly own the 'robot' you have to own all of its components; the hardware and the software.

Robots isn't the right word. Automation is the right word.