Key Takeaways
- Amazon has completed its acquisition of Fauna Robotics, a humanoid robotics company based in New York that was established in 2024 by former engineers from Meta and Google.
- The startup’s flagship product, Sprout, is a bipedal humanoid robot measuring 3’6″ in height with a price tag of $50,000, utilizing NVIDIA’s Jetson Orin platform for processing.
- The transaction was finalized last week, with no financial details made public.
- Approximately 50 Fauna employees will transition to Amazon’s Personal Robotics Group in New York, continuing operations under the “Fauna, an Amazon company” brand.
- This acquisition follows Amazon’s recent purchase of Rivr, a Swiss robotics company, demonstrating the tech giant’s aggressive expansion into consumer and delivery robotics sectors.
Amazon announced Tuesday that it has completed the acquisition of Fauna Robotics, a humanoid robotics venture launched in 2024 by engineering veterans from Meta and Google. The transaction was finalized last week, although the companies did not reveal the purchase price.
$AMZN has acquired Fauna Robotics marking its entry into the consumer humanoid market after the deal closed last week.
Fauna is developing a compact 42-inch humanoid called Sprout that can walk, grip objects, interact with people and even dance. pic.twitter.com/ibRfxcIOuT
— Shay Boloor (@StockSavvyShay) March 24, 2026
With this strategic purchase, Amazon positions itself as a serious contender in the increasingly competitive humanoid robotics sector, which has seen explosive growth in recent years.
Fauna’s flagship creation is Sprout — a two-legged humanoid robot that stands at 3 feet, 6 inches and weighs 50 pounds. The design emphasizes accessibility and consumer appeal, distinguishing it from purely industrial robotics solutions.
Priced at $50,000, Sprout includes integrated software, gripper attachments, and a replaceable battery pack that provides approximately 3 hours of operation. The robot operates on NVIDIA’s Jetson Orin robotics computing platform and features memory capabilities that enable learning over time.
Sprout’s capabilities include walking, dancing, operating doors, recognizing its name, and engaging in conversational interactions. Notable early adopters include Disney and Boston Dynamics, owned by Hyundai.
The approximately 50-person Fauna team will relocate to an Amazon facility in New York, maintaining operations under the “Fauna, an Amazon company” designation. Both co-founders, Rob Cochran and Josh Merel, will remain with the company.
Fauna will be integrated into Amazon’s Personal Robotics Group — a division distinct from the company’s warehouse automation operations.
Amazon’s Robotics Evolution
Amazon’s involvement in robotics spans over a decade. The company’s $775 million purchase of Kiva Systems in 2012 laid the foundation for Amazon Robotics, which now powers its warehouse automation infrastructure.
The company previously ventured into home robotics with Astro, a $1,600 mobile personal assistant robot introduced in 2021 that continues to be available only through invitation. Sprout represents a more comprehensive consumer robotics strategy.
The Fauna acquisition arrives just days following Amazon’s announcement of purchasing Rivr, a Swiss robotics firm specializing in last-mile delivery robots.
Intensifying Competition in Humanoid Robotics
Amazon enters an increasingly competitive landscape. Tesla is advancing its Optimus humanoid robot program at its Fremont manufacturing facility, with CEO Elon Musk announcing ambitions to produce 1 million units annually.
Additional competitors in this market include 1X, Figure AI, Apptronik, Agility Robotics, and China-based Unitree.
Amazon stated it intends to leverage its robotics capabilities, retail ecosystem, and consumer devices experience to expand the potential applications of personal robotics for everyday users.
An Amazon spokesperson expressed that the company is “excited about Fauna’s vision to build capable, safe, and fun robots for everyone.”
AMZN shares finished Tuesday’s trading session up 2.28%, gaining $4.73.
