Google parent company Alphabet held a secret 'logistics summit' last week with reps from FedEx and other shipping companies
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Alphabet held a closed-door meeting with internal executives and external retailers last week to discuss potential investments and strategies in the logistics sector.

The event, which was held in Silicon Valley, was called the Alphabet Advanced Logistics Summit and hosted by Alphabet's research and development unit, "X," and its recently spun out infrastructure company Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, the company confirmed to CNBC. The objective was to explore potential business models and investment opportunities in the e-commerce space with a focus in logistics and fulfillment, according to three people who attended and photos viewed by CNBC.

"We frequently bring together stakeholders from across various industries to exchange ideas and brainstorm ways that technology can deliver innovative solutions in areas like logistics," a company spokesperson told CNBC in an emailed response.

The majority of attendees were from Alphabet, which had several teams present, according to the people, who asked for anonymity when discussing the confidential meeting. It also included representatives from external companies including FedEx , JD.com , Deliv, Flexe and a former Walmart SVP, said one of the people who attended.

The discussions come as the company tries to expand its digital shopping reach amid retail giants such as Amazon and Alibaba , both of which have invested significantly in retail, technology and logistics. Alphabet invested $550 million in China's second-largest online shopping service, JD.com, last year and began selling some of its goods in March.

It also comes a few months after Sidewalk Labs spun out a separate entity in August called Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, which is still backed by Alphabet and Sidewalk Labs. SIP focuses on owning, acquiring and investing in technology-enabled infrastructure, particularly in urban areas. Sidewalk Labs is known for working on a high-profile and controversial new urban smart city on the waterfront of Toronto, for which it released the master plan in June. That plan also included an underground "logistics hub."