Hey Alexa, ask Roomba to vacuum the bedroom.
Amazon announced on Friday that it had reached an agreement Acquires iRobot Corp., maker of Roomba robot vacuum cleaners, for $1.7 billion, adding to its growing roster of smart home products.
“Saving time is important, and we know that household chores require precious time and that our customers can spend more time doing what they love,” said Amazon Devices. Senior Vice President Dave Limp said in a statement announcing the acquisition.
According to a statement, Amazon plans to acquire iRobot for $61 per share in all cash, including debt. The acquisition would be Amazon’s fourth-largest acquisition after buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017 and movie studio MGM for $8.5 billion last year. Last month, Amazon announced its foray into medical services, with him agreeing to acquire One Medical, a chain of primary care clinics in the United States, for $3.9 billion.
Roomba and other cleaning devices such as robotic mops and air purifiers from iRobot join Amazon’s portfolio of smart home devices, including the Ring doorbell and Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant and speaker. iRobot also makes an educational robot called Root that lets kids try coding.
The Roomba first hit dirty floors in 2002, delighting lazy people and embarrassing pets. especially catsThe New York Times described it as “easy, effective, and fun,” a product that quickly became “part of the family.”
Early $200 versions struggled around corners and chair legs, and even fell down stairs. But 20 years later, according to the company, the Roomba j7 will recognize more than 80 common objects (including cords and pet waste) and return to the dock to empty them when the chore is complete. I can. The most expensive option he sells for $999.99.
iRobot is best known for its roving cleaning equipment, but the technology that powers these tools also sucks up a ton of spatial data used to map a user’s home. Some digital rights groups have expressed concern that this data could help companies like Amazon find information about the size, content and even brand of homes.
iRobot reported revenue of $255.4 million in the second quarter of 2022. This is a 30% decrease from the previous year. Amazon reported revenue of $121.2 billion in the second quarter. This was up 7.2% from the same period last year, but down slightly from the 7.3% earnings growth he reported in the first quarter of this year. It was Amazon’s slowest growth in more than 20 years since the company began to slump from the high demand of the pandemic.
