Amazon to Acquire Makers of Roomba Vacuum Cleaners for $1.7 Billion

Amazon announced this morning that it has reached an agreement to acquire iRobot, the makers of the automated Roomba vacuum cleaners for $1.7 billion. The acquisition still needs to be approved by regulatory instances, but it could reinforce Amazon’s position in the smart home market in a pretty big way.

iRobot currently offers several models of its Roomba robot vacuums, and some models can connect to the Internet and be controlled via the iRobot Home app. There’s also an Alexa skill for telling Roomba devices to clean rooms without having to open the aforementioned app.

Amazon didn’t really explain how it plans to integrate iRobot products with the rest of its smart home devices. In recent years, Amazon created a solid ecosystem of smart home appliances that includes Echo and Alexa devices, smart plugs, Ring video doorbells, Eero Wi-Fi routers, and more. Last year, the company also launched the Astro, its first household robot for home monitoring that remains exclusively available by invitation.

“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,” said Dave Limp, SVP of Amazon Devices today.