iRobot’s founder is working on a new kind of home robot

Colin Angle, the co-founder of iRobot and its CEO for three decades, is getting back into robotics with a new startup called Familiar Machines & Magic. According to The Boston Globe, the company is developing a new kind of home robot focusing on health and wellness that might take the form of an animal or a “familiar.”

The company is currently in stealth mode, Angle tells The Globe, and includes the former CTO of iRobot, Chris Jones, as well as iRobot’s Ira Renfrew, who left the company to work on robotics at Amazon, including the shuttered Scout delivery robot.

Familiar Machines & Magic has raised $15 million from eight investors and is looking for $15 million more, according to TechCrunch. A job listing for the company on LinkedIn describes it as a “well-funded, new embodied AI and robotics startup based outside of Boston.”

It’s an interesting pivot for Angle to go from the practical to the personal. To date, robots that can do things for you, such as robot vacuum cleaners, robot litter boxes, and robot lawnmowers, have been more successful than “companion bots.” Jibo, Moxie, and Anki are just a few that have powered down over the years.

However, advances in generative AI could bring more potential to the space. These technologies could make robots such as the lovable Lovot or Sony’s Aibo, which the company recently resurrected, seem more human-like, have conversations with you, and be more useful than simply being cute.

What exact type of magic Angle and his Familars will conjure up remains to be seen. One investor described “furry pets to address loneliness” to The Globe. However, some combination of personality and practicality that positively impacts the health and well-being of household members feels like a good place to start.