Amazon has acquired Fauna Robotics, a New York-based startup, marking Amazon’s second robotics purchase this month. Fauna is known for developing a bipedal robot named Sprout, a 50-pound, 3.5-foot device launched recently to R&D partners. The acquisition, confirmed by Amazon but without disclosed terms, signifies Amazon’s entry into the humanoid robot race for the home.
Fauna was founded in 2024 by Rob Cochran and Josh Merel, both with backgrounds at Meta, CTRL-labs, Google DeepMind, and Goldman Sachs. The New York team, comprising about 50 people, raised $16.6 million before being acquired. Sprout, introduced this January, stands out for its size, resembling a ten-year-old more than industrial robots, and is designed to interact with human-centric environments rather than serve as a mass-market consumer product. It can walk, carry light objects, show emotions through LED displays, and functions on a developer-friendly SDK.
Initial users include Disney, Boston Dynamics, UC San Diego, and NYU, showing diverse interest. The acquisition marks a shift for Amazon from its previous consumer robot attempts, after the Astro home robot and the scrapped iRobot deal. Alongside acquiring Rivr, a Zurich firm specializing in delivery-support robots, Amazon appears to be crafting a comprehensive robotics strategy spanning home and logistics sectors. Fauna will continue operations in New York under the new branding as Fauna Robotics, an Amazon company.