Amazon aims to take consumer robots mainstream with acquisition of iRobot, says GlobalData

08 Aug 2022
Amazon aims to take consumer robots mainstream with acquisition of iRobot, says GlobalData

Posted in Thematic Research

Following the news that Amazon has acquired iRobot;

Snigdha Parida, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, comments:

"Despite iRobot's longevity and brand leadership in high-tech home robots, it has remained a mid-sized enterprise. It has also experienced supply chain disruption throughout the pandemic. Amazon's sophisticated logistics ecosystem will help iRobot overcome these challenges and the acquisition will also help Amazon to develop further logistics capability as the company attempts to bring robots into mainstream home applications.

"Robotics is a fast-growing industry, with GlobalData predicting that the global robotics market will reach $568 billion by 2030. Moreover, the consumer robotics segment will reach $70 billion by 2030, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29% between 2020 and 2030.

"Amazon has aggressively built its robotics ecosystem since it acquired Kiva Systems in 2012. iRobot will enhance its presence in the consumer robotics category and accelerate its plans to add robots to its existing automated home product portfolio, such as the Echo range of smart speakers and Ring smart doorbells.

"However, the purchase of iRobot might raise monopoly concerns from regulatory bodies, given Amazon's increasing strength in consumer robots. Privacy concerns and security risks around personal data are also potential obstacles.

"GlobalData predicted that iRobot would be a takeover target in 2022 and that Amazon was one of the potential acquirers in its report, 'Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in Tech, Media, & Telecom (TMT) 2021 Themes'."