2022年8月5日

亚马逊表示，它希望帮助客户处理吸尘等家务。放大/ iRobot的Roomba j7+机器人吸尘器。亚马逊刚刚宣布了一项重磅交易，以17亿美元收购家用机器人公司iRobot。这将是亚马逊有史以来第四大收购，仅次于2017年收购食品连锁超市Whole Foods(137亿美元)、2021年收购电影制片厂MGM(84.5亿美元)，以及上个月收购医疗提供商One medical(39亿美元)。iRobot是全球领先的消费类机器人公司。该公司主要生产Roomba真空吸尘器和机器人拖把，它还试图推出一款机器人割草机产品。亚马逊对机器人并不陌生;它有一个完整的“亚马逊机器人”部门，专注于该公司在亚马逊仓库的物流工作。亚马逊在2012年收购了仓库机器人公司Kiva Systems，在2019年收购了Canvas Technology，并于最近推出了首款“全自动”机器人“Proteus”，它看起来像一台工业级的Roomba机器人。该装置不用吸尘，而是在库存车下面行驶，并将其抬高几英寸，刚好足以让库存车离开地面，以便送货。 Amazon has also dipped its toes into iRobot's turf lately with the sort-of commercial launch of the home robot " Astro ." Astro is essentially an Alexa/camera/tablet on wheels that can navigate around the house. Sales are only by invitation, though, so it's more like an experiment than a major consumer launch. Advertisement Amazon doesn't mention the little house robot at all in its press release, though, with Dave Limp, SVP of Amazon Devices, saying, "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." The press release says iRobot CEO Colin Angle will stay on as head of iRobot, and the deal is subject to regulatory approval.