Is Amazon’s Acquisition Pact with iRobot Got Something to Do with its Mapping Technology?

Author: Claire Hutton

Undeniably, Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot sparked significant curiosity and accusations about Amazon wanting to get into many people’s homes for surveillance. 

To certify the claim, iRobot products, primarily robotic and smart home devices, come with intriguingly powerful mapping technology. 

With that into consideration, many think that the deal between the two rival companies back then is the effort of Amazon to access personal data. 

More details about the Amazon-iRobot acquisition pact 

iRobot is no ordinary company that Amazon acquired just out of pity. In fact, it has a great reputation for being the impressive maker of combat vehicles and in-demand household cleaning products. 

Moreover, the acquisition pact comes with a price tag of an all-cash transaction value of around $1.7 billion. 

In addition, it is part of the agreement that the iRobot CEO, Colin Angle, will remain in the position. Sounds truly interesting, right? 

Well, this also flared thoughts that Amazon isn’t really into wanting people to help clean their homes. 

Instead, its not-so-hidden agenda is wanting to obtain a map of people’s homes — based on speculations. 

Without a doubt, iRobot has really interesting capabilities. In particular, iRobot’s Roomba vacuum cleaners feature impressive sensors that effectively map the homes they operate in. 

Although a map of the homes does not seem like important information, the truth is it is a piece of sensitive data. Simply put, it is useful intel with so much value from a business perspective. 

Truly, the maps of homes are valuable since the iRobot CEO even shared back then that the mapping technology information collected is worth sharing with the tech companies developing AI assistants and smart home devices. This fact supports the idea that Amazon really aimed for the acquisition pact because of the mapping technology. 

Many even believed that Amazon would not stop just with the mapping technology, hinting that the online seller company would try to develop the technology. It is said that the goal is to gain comprehensive power to look at what’s happening inside the people’s homes. Adding to that are the headlines that Amazon also acquired companies that handle people’s data, like the Ring company. 

Another buzz-worthy news about Amazon is its target to acquire One Medical for about a $3.49 billion all-cash deal. This translates to the idea that Amazon wants to have its hands on the health data of millions that One Medical is keeping. Interestingly, this sounds like Amazon’s main target is the data, not the companies. 

Conclusion 

Despite the claims, Amazon denied answering the intriguing question of many about its plan to use iRobot’s collected data from its products. One thing is for sure; Amazon plans to have its hands everywhere, and it creates worry for some. 

After all, Amazon has a consistent track record of acquiring companies that hold many people’s sensitive and personal data, hinting concern with data privacy. 

While many see that Amazon thinks of those data as worth selling, it is still hard to have a definitive conclusion about Amazon.