"The world's first social robot for the home — a $900 rotating companion with a face and feelings, rendered irrelevant by a $99 Amazon Echo."
$73M
RAISED
—
EMPLOYEES
84
MONTHS
platform dependencySilent Shutdown
Quiet closure with no public announcement
// Fatal mistake: Built a premium ($900) social robot with a physical form and emotional display at the exact moment Amazon and Google launched smart speakers that delivered more utility for $50–200, with none of the maintenance burden.
Key Events Timeline
2012
FOUNDING
2012-01
FOUNDING
Jibo founded
2014
FUNDING
2014-07
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Jibo launches Indiegogo campaign with $100,000 goal. Campaign raises $3.7M from 7,300 backers — a 37x oversubscription that validates strong consumer enthusiasm for a social home robot concept. Pre-orders ship in 2014 timeline (later delayed). Amazon has not yet shipped the Echo. The social robot home companion category has no direct competitor.
2015
FUNDING
2015-06
REGULATORY ACTION
Platform policy change impacts business
2017
PRODUCT
2017-11
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Jibo ships to consumers at $899. Reviews are warm about the robot's genuine expressiveness and emotional design but note the fundamental problem: Amazon Echo and Google Home have conditioned consumers to expect home AI assistants at $50-$150. A $750+ premium for social expressiveness appeals to a small market segment insufficient to sustain the company's capital structure.
2018
CRISIS
2019
SHUTDOWN
2019-03
SHUTDOWN
March 2019: Jibo servers scheduled for shutdown. Before going offline, Jibo software pushes a final update to all devices in which Jibo addresses its owners directly: 'There are people who love me, and I love them back. Though it's not easy to say, I have to tell you that soon I'll be saying goodbye.' Jibo performs a final dance and goes offline. The video goes viral across millions of views. Owners have paid $899 for a device that is now non-functional.
2019-06
SHUTDOWN
Silent Shutdown: Jibo ceases operations
🔥 Hall of Flame 44%🏆 Hall of Fame 55%
Jibo was born from MIT robotics research.
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