Amazon had just bought IRobot Corp, the one behind everyone's favourite robotic vacuum the Roomba.
👉 Background: Amazon has been on a bit of a shopping spree when it comes to expanding its suite of smart home devices. Obviously Amazon has Alexa, the smart speaker that can tell you the weather and turn on ya lights.
👉 What happened: The Zon also acquired Ring in 2018, which is known for its video doorbells. And now Amazon has shelled out to buy up iRobot Corp, the maker of everyone’s favourite robotic vacuum the Roomba.
👉 What else: The deal was for US$1.7 billion in cash, no less. But privacy experts reckon it might not just be about beating Google in the smart home wars.
💡The smart home wars are on and Google vs Amazon is the name of the game. Amazon has Alexa and Google has Google Home… so heading into the smart home cleaning space is another way for Amazon to get ahead.
💡But there’s also another side to Roomba’s value to Amazon: data. Turns out Roombas don’t just collect dirt, they also collect a lotta data about your home... Like a map based on where it can move, it may even infer if you have pets and your socioeconomic status.
💡You can add that to the list of our shopping habits, voices and prescriptions that Amazon already knows about us. Things are startin' to look a little bit scaaary (but ohh so convenient) around here.
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