AmazonAnnounceAmazon's acquisition of all shares in iRobot, a vacuum robot manufacturer, for US$17 billion in an all-cash transaction is expected to enable it to strengthen the development of robotics and home automation applications.
iRobot was first founded in 1990 by Rodney Brooks and others at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. In 1998, the company received research funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop the military robot PackBot. It then launched the Roomba, a household vacuum cleaner, in September 2002, which became the foundation of today's automated vacuum robots. iRobot was subsequently listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in November 9.
iRobot has sold more than 3000 million sweeping robots to date, and continues to update related technologies to make its automated floor cleaning function more complete.
Amazon announced the acquisition for $17 billion, and is expected to leverage iRobot's technology to strengthen its robotics and home automation applications. Following the transaction, Amazon will retain the iRobot brand and operate independently, with current CEO Colin Angle continuing to lead the team.
