E-commerce giant Amazon acquires robot technology company iRobot for €1.6B

E-commerce giant Amazon and US-based iRobot, a technology company that designs and builds behaviour-based AI robots, announced on Friday (August 5) that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement wherein Amazon will acquire iRobot.

According to a statement by Amazon, it will purchase iRobot for $61 per share in an all-cash deal valued at close to $1.7B (approximately €1.66B), including iRobot’s net debt. Colin Angle will continue to lead iRobot.

Aim of this acquisition

iRobot claims to simplify customers’ lives with home cleaning solutions. With each new product generation, the company says that it has been developing and tackling complex issues to give customers their valuable time back.

Dave Limp, SVP of Amazon Devices, says, “We know that saving time matters, and chores take precious time that can be better spent doing something that customers love. Over many years, the iRobot team has proven its ability to reinvent how people clean with products that are incredibly practical and inventive—from cleaning when and where customers want while avoiding common obstacles in the home, to automatically emptying the collection bin. Customers love iRobot products—and I’m excited to work with the iRobot team to invent in ways that make customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable.”

Amazon is an online store that caters to buyers, merchants, and content producers. It provides users with goods and content that have been acquired from merchants for resale as well as those provided by independent sellers.

Through websites like amazon.com and amazon.ca, Amazon offers its services in the North American and International markets. Additionally, it permits the publication and sale of content via its branded websites by writers, musicians, filmmakers, app developers, and others.

 Amazon also offers Kindle Direct Publishing, a web-based tool that enables independent writers and publishers to upload their books for sale in the Kindle Store. It also manufactures and distributes electrical gadgets in addition to offering co-branded credit card deals, advertising services, and support for developers and businesses through Amazon Web Services.

What does iRobot offer?

Founded in 1990 by roboticists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, iRobot’s goal is to realise the dream of useful robots. The consumer robot company designs and builds “thoughtful” robots and intelligent home innovations to make life better. iRobot introduced the first Roomba robot vacuum in 2002.

The company’s product portfolio features technologies and advanced concepts in cleaning, mapping and navigation.

Speaking on the merger, Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot, says, “Since we started iRobot, our team has been on a mission to create innovative, practical products that make customers’ lives easier, leading to inventions like the Roomba and iRobot OS. Amazon shares our passion for building thoughtful innovations that empower people to do more at home, and I cannot think of a better place for our team to continue our mission. I’m hugely excited to be a part of Amazon and to see what we can build together for customers in the years ahead.”

iRobot claims to have created some of the most important robots in the world. For example, the company’s robots have revealed mysteries of the Great Pyramid of Giza, found harmful subsea oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and saved thousands of lives in areas of conflict and crisis around the globe.