In a move that signals growing interest in personal robotics, Amazon has acquired Fauna Robotics, a startup focused on building user-friendly humanoid robots. The deal was confirmed on Tuesday, though financial details were not disclosed.
“We are excited about Fauna’s vision to build capable, safe, and fun robots for everyone,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “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.”
Fauna Robotics was founded in 2024 by former engineers from Meta and Google. Earlier this year, the New York-based startup introduced Sprout, a $50,000 bipedal robot. It stands 3 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 50 pounds, and is designed to be approachable, human-friendly, and accessible to software developers.
The company had signed up early customers including Disney and Boston Dynamics, owned by Hyundai. Following the acquisition, Fauna’s team of around 50 employees will join Amazon in New York.
In a LinkedIn post, co-founder and CEO Rob Cochran said he was “incredibly excited” about the development. “We are thrilled about what joining the Amazon team means for our future,” he wrote. “Going forward, we will proudly operate as Fauna Robotics, an Amazon company.”
Amazon has been investing in robotics for over a decade, mainly for warehouse automation. It acquired Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012, which became the base for Amazon Robotics. Recently, the company also acquired Rivr, which builds machines for doorstep delivery.
The company has also explored home robotics. In 2021, it launched Astro, a personal robot priced at $1,600 and available only through invitation.
With this acquisition, Amazon is entering the competitive humanoid robot space. Tesla is developing its humanoid robot Optimus and plans to scale production at its Fremont facility. CEO Elon Musk has said the goal is to produce 1 million units annually.
Other competitors in this space include 1X, Figure AI, Apptronik, Agility Robotics, and China-based Unitree.
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