Amazon acquires Fauna Robotics, entering consumer humanoid market with Sprout robot

Amazon Acquires Fauna Robotics to Enter Consumer Humanoid Market

Amazon has completed its acquisition of Fauna Robotics, a New York-based startup developing humanoid robots for consumer applications, according to people familiar with the deal 1

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. The robotics acquisition closed last week, bringing Fauna's roughly 50 employees into Amazon's Personal Robotics Group as part of the company's operations division 1

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. While Amazon didn't disclose the acquisition price, Fauna had previously raised at least $30 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Quiet Capital, and Lux Capital 1

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The e-commerce and cloud-computing giant confirmed its excitement about "Fauna's vision to build capable, safe and fun robots for everyone," signaling a strategic shift toward consumer robotics after years of focusing primarily on warehouse operations 1

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. The startup will continue operating as "Fauna, an Amazon company" and maintain its deployment of robots to outside researchers 3

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Meet Sprout: The Humanoid Robot Designed for Social Interactions in Homes

Fauna Robotics launched Sprout, its debut humanoid robot, in January as a robotics developer platform aimed at academic and corporate research laboratories exploring applications in the home 2

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. The 42-inch tall Sprout humanoid robot features arms and legs that enable it to walk, grip items, dance, and interact with people in shared human spaces 1

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Priced at $50,000, Sprout is smaller than rival humanoids and handles chores such as picking up toys and fetching food from the pantry in homes and offices 1

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. The robot can dance the Twist or the Floss, grab toy blocks or teddy bears, and hoist itself from a chair to take a stroll 5

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. Early customers for the platform included Disney 2

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Advanced Technology Powers Interactive Capabilities

Sprout comes equipped with natural voice interaction capabilities that allow it to hold back-and-forth conversations and respond to the wake word "Sprout" 1

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. The humanoid robot can recognize when it's being addressed, give high fives, shake hands, wave, crawl, and form memories over time 1

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The current version uses artificial intelligence to help maintain balance and includes a swappable battery lasting about three hours on a single charge 1

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. Built on the 64GB Nvidia Jetson AGX Orin robotics platform, Sprout features dual speakers, one terabyte of storage, and an LED array 4

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. The robot is designed to eventually fit into environments with children and pets, serving adults and younger users alike 1

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Founders Bring Deep AI and Robotics Expertise

Fauna Robotics was established in 2024 by co-founders Josh Merel, a former Meta and Google DeepMind researcher, and Rob Cochran, former head of product at CTRL-Labs, a neural interface technology company acquired by Meta in 2019 4

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. Both founders will join Amazon as the company relocates from its New York office to an Amazon building in the area 1

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Cochran expressed his excitement on social media, noting that when Fauna launched in New York in February 2024, the team set out "to build capable, safe, and fun robots for everyone" 3

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. He reassured existing customers that Fauna will continue selling Sprout Creator Edition robots to new customers and providing support to all existing ones 3

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Developer Platform Enables Robotics Research and Applications

Sprout includes a developer platform that lets researchers and scientists build applications for the device, positioning it as a testing platform for advancing robotics research 1

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. The robot features modular AI architecture allowing robotics teams to use their own AI models anywhere in the system, along with trained motor control policies and built-in mapping and localization capabilities 4

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Targeted for retail and hospitality sectors, Sprout can meet and greet visitors, showcase products, and guide people around facilities 3

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. With custom voices, gestures, and movements, the robot can function as a friendly concierge for the home 3

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. It also offers learning opportunities for students interested in technology and supports research in areas of locomotion, manipulation, and interactive behaviors 3

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Amazon's Broader Robotics Strategy and Market Competition

Amazon is already a robotics powerhouse, having deployed more than 1 million robots across its warehouse operations 2

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. The company launched a generative AI foundation model last June designed to make its robot fleet 10% more efficient 4

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. However, Amazon hasn't yet determined exactly how Fauna's technology will be marketed to consumers and isn't planning to deploy the robot in its warehouse operations 1

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The acquisition follows Amazon's 2021 launch of Astro, a home robot that has seen limited traction 1

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. Amazon also acquired Rivr last week, which makes a four-legged robot to help delivery drivers 1

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. The company called off its purchase of robot vacuum maker iRobot in 2024 after facing regulatory hurdles in Europe and the United States 5

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If Amazon launches a humanoid product, it would compete with major projects like Tesla Optimus, the Figure AI robot, offerings from Boston Dynamics, and various startups 1

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. Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Alphabet Inc.'s Google have all expressed interest in the consumer humanoid market 1

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. Amazon's statement emphasized that "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" 1

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The acquisition comes after Amazon announced layoffs in its robotics division at the start of March, including halting its Blue Jay warehouse robotics project less than six months after launching 4

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. These robotics cuts were part of company-wide layoffs affecting roughly 16,000 workers 4

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. Despite these challenges, Amazon's integration of Alexa technology with Fauna's robotics expertise could position the company to deliver more interactive consumer robotics experiences in homes and schools.