Amazon is making another acquisition to shake up the smart home industry and further expand its presence inside your home. The company announced on Friday that it is dropping $1.7 billion to acquire iRobot, the makers of the Roomba robot vacuums.
Amazon and iRobot announced the deal on Friday in a press release; it’s an all cash deal that breaks down to $61 per share for iRobot. The deal is, of course, subject to approval from regulators and iRobot shareholders. There are no details on when Amazon and iRobot expect the deal to be formally completed.
In the announcement, Dave Limp, the senior vice president of Amazon Devices, said that Amazon will work with iRobot to “invent in ways that make customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable.”
“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.”
Once the deal is finalized, Colin Angle will remain as CEO of iRobot. “I’m hugely excited to be a part of Amazon and to see what we can build together for customers in the years ahead,” Angle said in a statement addressing the acquisition.
Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot will be one of its largest-ever smart home deals. Amazon acquired the smart camera and doorbell company Ring for around $1 billion.
As it stands today, Roomba vacuums integrate with iOS devices, including Siri, thanks to the iRobot app for iOS. We expect deeper integration with Alexa to be one of the first things Amazon does once the acquisition is finalized.
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