Amazon agrees to buy Roomba maker iRobot for $1.7bn

Amazon announced it has agreed to acquire the vacuum cleaner maker iRobot for approximately $1.7bn, scooping up another company to add to its collection of smart home appliances amid broader concerns about its market power. The acquisition, announced on Friday, is part of Amazon's bid to own part of the home space through services and accelerate its growth beyond retail, said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail. The appliance would join the voice assistant Alexa, the Astro robot and Ring security cameras and others in the list of smart home features offered by the Seattle-based e-commerce and tech giant. So far, Amazon has not had much success with household robots. The company's Astro robot, which helps with tasks like setting an alarm, was unveiled last year at an introductory price of $1,000.