Amazon is ready to acquire iRobot

Amazon is ready to acquire iRobot

San Francisco, Aug. 5, 2022

Amazon has agreed to acquire iRobot, maker of the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, for $1.7 billion. The deal is part of Amazon’s efforts to expand its presence in robotics.

iRobot was founded in 1990 by Colin Angle, Rodney Brooks and Helen Greiner, all members of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

The company is best known for its Roomba brand of vacuuming robots, which have sold more than 30 million units by 2020.

Prior to Amazon’s decision to acquire iRobot, Roomba was already using Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant and relied on servers provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In 2012, Amazon bought warehouse automation company Kiva Systems for $775 million and renamed it Amazon Robotics.

The Amazon Astro robot, which Amazon launched in 2021, was met with mixed feelings.

The purchase of iRobot would be one of the largest acquisitions in Amazon’s history.