Amazon has acquired New York-based startup Fauna Robotics, becoming the latest technology giant to step into the consumer humanoid market. The acquisition of Fauna Robotics is the second robotics startup Amazon has purchased this month, signalling an aggressive push by the e-commerce and cloud-computing giant into a sector dominated by Tesla and other well-funded competitors.
Fauna launched Sprout, a $50,000 bipedal robot that's 3 feet, 6 inches tall, weighs 50 pounds and is designed to be "approachable and human-friendly". The robot has arms and legs that can interact with people, walk, grip items and dance. Unlike industrial robots designed for heavy warehouse work, Sprout is more about fun interactions than heavy lifting, with the ability to dance the Twist or the Floss, grab a toy block or teddy bear, or hoist itself from a chair and take a stroll.
Fauna Robotics was founded in 2024 by former Meta and Google engineers. Fauna's roughly 50 employees will join Amazon in New York, where they will become part of the company's Personal Robotics Group. The company said at the time that it signed up Disney and Hyundai's Boston Dynamics as early customers for Sprout before the Amazon acquisition.
Amazon said last week it acquired Rivr, a Swiss robotics company developing machines for "doorstep delivery". The two acquisitions suggest a shift in Amazon's robotics strategy; while Amazon acquired Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012, which served as the foundation for Amazon Robotics, the company is now expanding into consumer-facing applications. Tesla is developing a humanoid robot called Optimus, and plans to manufacture these at its Fremont, California factory, with CEO Elon Musk saying the company would convert former production lines into "an Optimus factory" with the goal of "having 1 million units a year".
Amazon's past efforts in consumer robotics have delivered mixed results. Amazon launched a squat, roving personal robot called Astro in 2021, which is priced at $1,600, though the device can only be purchased via invitation. More significantly, Amazon canceled its acquisition of robotic vacuum maker iRobot in 2024 because of antitrust concerns. The Fauna acquisition suggests the company sees significant market opportunity in humanoid robots designed for homes and educational settings, where safety and user approachability are paramount.
An Amazon spokesperson stated, "We are excited about Fauna's vision to build capable, safe, and fun robots for everyone. Together with Amazon's robotics expertise and decades of experience earning customer trust in the home through our retail and devices businesses, we're looking forward to inventing new ways to make our customers' lives better and easier". The financial terms of the acquisition remain undisclosed.