Roomba Creator Colin Angle Returns with AI-Powered Furry Robot Companion

The Verge·medium signal

Colin Angle, who put 50 million Roombas in homes, launched a new company called Familiar Machines with an AI-powered companion robot designed for emotional connection rather than utility. The robot features fur, responsive behaviors, and conversational AI — positioning against the Jibo/Kuri graveyard of failed social robots but with the pedigree of someone who actually shipped consumer robotics at scale.