Amazon 'already testing delivery drones,' says Bezos

Amazon is already testing its delivery drones, c.e.o. Jeff Bezos has told shareholders.

In a letter, Bezos said Amazon’s “Prime Air team is already testing our fifth and sixth generation aerial vehicles”.

He also said the company was in the “design phase on generations seven and eight”.

Bezos first floated the idea of delivery by drone in December 2013, when he told an American news programme that unmanned drones could deliver packages of up to 2.3kg and would cover a 10-mile radius from distribution centres.

In his letter to shareholders Bezos also spoke about “investing heavily on behalf of readers”.

He cited the new Kindle Paperwhite as a success story, and mentioned the launch of Amazon Publishing in the UK and Germany, saying “thousands of authors” were using Amazons’ services to “build fulfilling writing careers”.

Amazon Publishing plans to release 500 titles in the UK this year, with the director of Amazon Publishing International, Sarah Jane Gunter, telling The Bookseller that Amazon is continuing to invest in its publishing businesses.

In his letter to shareholders Bezos also spoke about Amazon Prime, Amazon Game Studios, and the company’s grocery service.