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Jeff Bezos set Amazon on a bold course in 2017, convinced that household robots would soon become a consumer reality. The Amazon founder and then CEO directed top device executives to build one, eventually producing the $1,450 Astro.

Amazon unveiled Astro at its fall 2021 event as an Alexa equipped tablet on wheels. The robot could navigate a home, recognize faces and serve as a mobile security monitor, but it never advanced beyond an invite only release.

Only a few thousand customers received Astro, and some now suspect its days are numbered. Amazon also introduced an Astro model for businesses in 2023, then shut down that product less than a year later.

Despite those stumbles, Amazon is again chasing the household robot dream. A CNBC review of job postings found that the company assembled a new team to develop a “new-to-world robot product” capable of operating autonomously around family members.

The renewed effort fits Amazon’s willingness to make long term bets that may be misunderstood before they gain traction. CEO Andy Jassy identified artificial intelligence and robotics among the “biggest inflections of our lifetime” in his latest annual letter.

Analysts see substantial potential in humanoid robots. Barclays valued the current global market at $2 billion to $3 billion and forecast it could reach about $40 billion by 2035, or as much as $200 billion “under the most optimistic scenarios.”

Earlier this year, Amazon reassigned much of the Astro team and recruited an MIT roboticist for the home robot project, according to LinkedIn profiles. In March, it acquired New York company Fauna Robotics, developer of a 3.5 foot tall humanoid called Sprout.

Amazon said Fauna would join a new Personal Robotics Group. Some employees in that group previously worked at Amazon’s Lab126 research unit, which developed products including Kindle, Echo speakers, Fire TV and Fire Tablet, along with the failed Fire Phone.

Amazon has not disclosed what the new robot will look like or which tasks it might perform. Job listings, however, described an ambition to create robots that are functional and delightful, while defining what living with a Fauna robot would feel like.

Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said the company acquired Fauna because it remains committed to unlocking the personal robotics category. He also acknowledged a substantial gap between what robots can accomplish in controlled laboratories and what they can reliably do in living rooms or lobbies.

Astro owner Emily Lugo Velez has lived with the robot in her North Carolina home since 2023. She still uses it to check pets and appliances remotely, but otherwise described it as a party trick and a “trip hazard” that usually gets sent back to its charging dock.

“We spent so much money on this thing,” Lugo Velez, 52, said. “I feel like we’re just stuck with it, and we’ll let it run around the house until it eventually dies, then send it to the trash heap.”

Former Amazon consumer robotics vice president Ken Washington said executives considered adding an arm so Astro could pick up and inspect objects. Washington pushed for a robot that walked on two legs, but leadership rejected that direction.

Amazon has enjoyed far greater success with robots inside warehouses. Since buying Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012, the company has expanded its fulfillment network to more than one million robots that pick, sort and move goods to workers.

Homes present a tougher test because layouts vary and robots must contend with children, pets, grandparents and stairs. Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation, said walking robots face a particularly challenging environment when no two homes are configured alike.

Colin Angle, a cofounder and former iRobot CEO, said Amazon may have better luck now because robotics tools have advanced dramatically. Improvements in artificial intelligence models, sensors, batteries and mechanical components have fueled development for both industrial and consumer uses.

Investment has followed that momentum. Venture capital firms poured $33.4 billion into robotics and physical artificial intelligence companies during the first half of the year, compared with $28.7 billion throughout 2025, according to PitchBook data.

For existing Astro owners, enthusiasm is mixed with concern. Users in Facebook groups have complained about weaker customer service and the lack of AIexa+ support, while some have offered discounted units through eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

Glasser said Amazon continues supporting Astro customers and has carried lessons, talent and experience from the project into other robotics work. Whether its next machine becomes useful household help or another expensive curiosity remains the question hanging over Amazon’s revived effort.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.