Amazon acquires Fauna Robotics, maker of the kid-sized Sprout humanoid
On 2026-03-24 Amazon agreed to acquire New York-based Fauna Robotics (founded 2024 by ex-Meta/Google engineers Rob Cochran and Josh Merel), maker of Sprout, a small, soft-bodied bipedal humanoid built for safe use around people; about 50 staff join Amazon's Personal Robotics Group. It was Amazon's second robotics acquisition that month (after delivery-robot maker Rivr) and its clearest move toward humanoids for the home.
Key facts
- Announced 2026-03-24; financial terms not disclosed
- Fauna founders: Rob Cochran and Josh Merel; ~50 employees join Amazon's Personal Robotics Group
- Sprout: kid-sized (~3 ft 6 in) bipedal humanoid with soft exterior and minimized pinch points; began shipping to select R&D partners in early 2026
- Reported early customers: Disney and Boston Dynamics (press reports)
- Reported price ~$50,000 for Sprout (secondary reports; not confirmed by Amazon)
- Came less than a week after Amazon bought Zurich-based Rivr (stair-climbing delivery robots)
What happened
Amazon, already the largest operator of warehouse robots, bought a humanoid startup whose robot was designed for homes and schools rather than factories. Amazon said it was "excited about Fauna's vision to build capable, safe, and fun robots for everyone." Sprout is marketed as a safe, approachable developer platform with built-in movement, control and social behaviors.
Why it matters
It marks Big Tech's consumer-humanoid race: Amazon (Fauna, March), Meta (ARI, May) and OpenAI (in-house humanoid, August) all made humanoid moves in 2026.
Changelog
- 2026-09-29: created (reported robot weight differs between sources, 50 vs 59 lb, so it is omitted)
Related events
Sources (4)
- pressThe Robot Report: Amazon acquires humanoid developer Fauna Robotics
- pressTechCrunch: Amazon just bought a startup making kid-size humanoid robots
- pressCNBC: Amazon acquires 'approachable' humanoid maker Fauna Robotics
- pressFortune: Amazon buys Fauna Robotics, maker of Sprout
id: 2026-03-24-amazon-acquires-fauna-robotics · updated 2026-09-29 · open in the interactive timeline