Amazon Stands Up Personal Robotics Group Around Fauna's Sprout

Amazon has formally organized a home-robot team around a 3.5-foot humanoid called Sprout, CNBC reported on November 8, five years after its $1,450 Astro shipped to only a few thousand invite-only customers. Over the preceding several months the company assembled a Personal Robotics Group and began hiring for a "new-to-world robot product," based on job postings the outlet reviewed.

Earlier this year Amazon redeployed much of the team behind Astro and brought in an MIT roboticist to work on the project, according to LinkedIn profiles cited in the piece. The seed acquisition was Fauna Robotics; Fauna announced on March 24 that it had officially joined Amazon and would continue selling Sprout Creator Edition robots and supporting existing customers as Fauna Robotics, an Amazon company.

The first attempt did not land. Amazon introduced the $1,450 Astro in 2021, pitched as able to navigate a home on its own, recognize faces and serve as a mobile security monitor. A business version released in 2023 was discontinued less than a year later. CNBC's framing is unsparing. One Astro owner tells the outlet they feel "stuck with it, and we'll let it run around the house until it eventually dies, then send it to the trash heap."

Asked about attempt two, Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser told CNBC the company acquired Fauna because it is "committed to tackling the challenges that can unlock the personal robotics category." Design, price and release date for the new robot are not disclosed.

The push arrives inside a loud quarter for consumer-facing humanoids. Our robotics tracker has logged 191 stories in the last ninety days, including Agility Robotics' Nasdaq debut two days ago.