Amazon Acquires 3.5-Foot Robot Maker Fauna to Revive Home Humanoid Push
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Nov 8
Amazon Acquires 3.5-Foot Robot Maker Fauna to Revive Home Humanoid Push
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Nov 8
Summary
Amazon bought New York-based Fauna Robotics in March and folded it into a new Personal Robotics Group, sharpening a fresh push into household humanoids after Astro stalled.
Fauna built the 3.5-foot Sprout humanoid, and recent Amazon job listings point to robots designed for dynamic home environments, autonomous operation and living alongside families.
The reboot follows Astro’s weak traction: the $1,450 home robot reached only a few thousand users, while a business version launched in 2023 was sunset less than a year later.
Amazon says Astro helped build talent and know-how, and it is betting those lessons plus rapid gains in AI, sensors and batteries can narrow the gap between lab robots and real homes.
That bet targets a market Barclays values at $2 billion to $3 billion today and projects could reach about $40 billion by 2035, amid intensifying competition from Tesla, Apple and startups.