Author: Valery Zulia
The shopping giant Amazon has made a huge move into the robot vacuum market with their acquisition of iRobot. This purchase is expected to help Amazon expand their services in the house – Keeping up with the modern trend of minimalist homes- and provides yet another way to assist people with both cleaning and organizing their homes.
About the DealQA
The deal is valued at approximately $1.7 billion, and Amazon will acquire iRobot for $61 per share in an all-cash transaction.
According to Dave Limp, SVP of Amazon Devices: “Customers adore iRobot products, and I’m delighted to collaborate with the iRobot team to create in ways that make customers’ lives easier and more fun.”
When the transaction is completed and approved by regulations, it’s not yet clear how iRobot will incorporate into Amazon, although Amazon expects to remain Colin Angle as the company’s CEO.
About the iRobot Company
iRobot is a manufacturer of automated vacuums, mops, air purifiers, and portable vacuums that was founded in 1990 by roboticists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Since 2002, iRobot has been creating robot vacuums and has sold millions of its well-known Roomba models. The newest iRobot OS, an AI-powered platform for its robot vacuums and mops, was released by iRobot earlier this year. With more software features and functions, the iRobot OS will set Roomba products apart from rivals as the robot cleaning market becomes more competitive.
iRobot has had a challenging year despite being a leading name in home robotics. It just revealed second-quarter sales of $255.4 million, a 30% decrease from last year’s period. It revealed a $43.4 million net deficit for the three months that ended July 2.
According to the earnings report, the business also intends to reduce costs by moving some non-core engineering functions to lower-cost locales and eliminating 140 jobs, or 10% of its staff.
Roomba Vacuum Robot Assistant
The long-rumored home assistance robot can navigate a house using voice commands, map out floor layouts, and even identify people. It has similar capabilities to an Alexa-enabled device, including playing music, answering queries, and providing weather information.
iRobot’s most recent operating system may not be attached to an Alexa on wheels. Still, it is just as ambitious, aiming to improve house understanding through AI and smart features before expanding to other aspects of the smart home.
Roomba as a Part of a Smart House System
Amazon doesn’t go into details about its goals for iRobot, although there are obvious connections with its other smart home goods. Last year, Amazon created the $999 Astro smart home robot, which Dan Seifert, deputy editor of Verge, called “the love child of a Roomba and an Echo Show smart display.
Roomba, Alexa, Ring doorbells, and other Amazon smart home gadgets provide the corporation with an amazing quantity of data in a contemporary smart house. Naturally, this will raise further concerns about privacy and Amazon’s control of the smart home industry.
Conclusion
The eCommerce giant has acquired the robotics company iRobot for $1.7 billion. This acquisition shows their commitment to expanding into new markets. They want to offer customers better services through their smart home assistants.