Colin Angle

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Co-founder and CEO of Familiar Machines & Magic, Inc.

Co-founder and ex-CEO of iRobot Corporation

x.com/colinangle

linkedin.com/in/colinangle

 

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iRobot CEO Colin Angle on the Shortcomings of Humanoid Robots

Published on Sep 6, 2013

 

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iRobot’s CEO on bringing robots into the home

Published on Mar 8, 2017

iRobot CEO Colin Angle, the man behind the Roomba, discusses the company’s military roots and tempering public expectations about what robots can and cannot do.

 

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Bringing robots home with Colin Angle (iRobot)

Published on Jul 23, 2017

TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics is a single-day event designed to facilitate in-depth conversation and networking with the technologists, researchers and students of the robotics community as well as the founders and investors bringing innovation to the masses.

 

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Article "iRobot CEO says the future of the smart home is going to mean making friends with robots"
iRobot CEO and co-founder Colin Angle on the future of the firm and a Roomba named Rosie

by James Vincent
April 19, 2018

 

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The evolution of home robot intelligence beyond the limits of autonomy

Published on Jun 11, 2019

The golden age of home robots is here but do we really know what we want and how to define intelligence? For more than 50 years, consumers have equivocated robot intelligence with autonomy. We were wrong. Since the birth of the Roomba in 2002, iRobot has been on a mission to create a truly autonomous home robot. Through this quest we have seen great success selling over 25 million home robots worldwide providing people with smarter ways to clean and accomplish more in their daily lives. But order to trust robots in our homes and daily lives, in addition to acting on their own, an truly intelligent robot must be able take targeted direction, collaborate both with humans and other robots as part of a system of devices to enable the smart home. On the sliding scale of autonomy, a robot must be able to interact in multiple ways and on multiple levels. It must also be able to work with others to accomplish more than what one robot could possibly do on its own. Building an intelligent robot is much harder than building an autonomous one.

With this in mind, Colin Angle, founder and CEO of iRobot, has unveil a series of breakthrough innovations in home robots from iRobot. For the first time on stage, he will discuss and demonstrate what it takes to build a truly intelligent system of robots that work together to accomplish more within the home – and enable that home, and the devices within it, to work together as one.

 

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Colin Angle: iRobot CEO | Artificial Intelligence (AI) Podcast

Published on Sep 19, 2019

Colin Angle is the CEO and co-founder of iRobot, a robotics company that for 29 years has been creating robots that operate successfully in the real world, not as a demo or on a scale of dozens, but on a scale of thousands and millions. As of this year, iRobot has sold more than 25 million robots to consumers, including the Roomba vacuum cleaning robot, the Braava floor mopping robot, and soon the Terra lawn mowing robot. 25 million robots successfully operating autonomously in people's homes to me is an incredible accomplishment of science, engineering, logistics, and all kinds of entrepreneurial innovation. Note: I accidentally say 29 million not 25 million in the video. iRobot may very well be close to (if not over) the 29 million mark, but the most recent official number is over 25 million. This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast.

 

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Colin Angle: iRobot® Roomba® Expansion, Fall 2023

Sep 11, 2023

The evolution of Roomba® is here. Introducing three new robots, with three new powerful ways to clean.

For over 30 years, we have been on a mission to build robots that help people to do more. Now, we are answering the call from consumers to expand our robot lineup to include more 2 in 1 robot vacuum and mop options.

Meet the next generation of iRobot's products: Roomba Combo™ j9+ Robot Vacuum and Mop, Roomba Combo™ j5/i5 Series, and the Roomba® j9+ Robot Vacuum.

 

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The iRobot Story, Regulation, and the Next Era of Physical AI

Jan 28, 2026

After three decades in consumer robotics, Colin Angle is still asking the hardest questions about trust, value, and what robots are actually for.Colin Angle, co-founder and former CEO of iRobot, joins Automated for a candid conversation about the rise of consumer robotics, the collapse of the Amazon acquisition, and what comes next for physical AI.He explains why Roomba was never a “science project,” how regulatory delays reshaped the company’s future, and why the next generation of robots must focus on trust, value, and real human interaction, not just humanoid hype.The conversation also looks forward. Colin, now the CEO of Familiar Machines & Magic, shares how his thinking has evolved after three decades in consumer robotics, why trust and value creation remain the hardest problems to solve, and what excites him about the next era of physical AI, from emotionally intelligent machines to a smarter, more human-centered home.It’s a candid, wide-ranging discussion about entrepreneurship, regulation, and what it really takes to build robots that last.

Key Moments:
00:00 Why iRobot was never a science project
02:00 Colin’s relationship with iRobot after stepping down
06:00 The Amazon deal, why it made sense, and why it failed
11:30 Regulatory purgatory and its real cost
20:00 Lessons for U.S. robotics and innovation policy
31:40 The three hurdles every robot company faces
35:00 Trust, control, and why “invisible robots” failed
40:00 What excites Colin about physical AI today
49:00 Starting over; building the next robotics platform

 

[Administrator]

The iRobot Story, Regulation, and the Next Era of Physical AI

Jan 28, 2026

After three decades in consumer robotics, Colin Angle is still asking the hardest questions about trust, value, and what robots are actually for.Colin Angle, co-founder and former CEO of iRobot, joins Automated for a candid conversation about the rise of consumer robotics, the collapse of the Amazon acquisition, and what comes next for physical AI.He explains why Roomba was never a “science project,” how regulatory delays reshaped the company’s future, and why the next generation of robots must focus on trust, value, and real human interaction, not just humanoid hype.The conversation also looks forward. Colin, now the CEO of Familiar Machines & Magic, shares how his thinking has evolved after three decades in consumer robotics, why trust and value creation remain the hardest problems to solve, and what excites him about the next era of physical AI, from emotionally intelligent machines to a smarter, more human-centered home.It’s a candid, wide-ranging discussion about entrepreneurship, regulation, and what it really takes to build robots that last.

Key Moments:
00:00 Why iRobot was never a science project
02:00 Colin’s relationship with iRobot after stepping down
06:00 The Amazon deal, why it made sense, and why it failed
11:30 Regulatory purgatory and its real cost
20:00 Lessons for U.S. robotics and innovation policy
31:40 The three hurdles every robot company faces
35:00 Trust, control, and why “invisible robots” failed
40:00 What excites Colin about physical AI today
49:00 Starting over; building the next robotics platform

 

[Administrator]

Article "Roomba inventor Colin Angle made robots useful. Now he wants to make them lovable."

by Rya Jetha
May 12, 2026