Company
Jibo
Jibo was an American social robotics company founded in 2012 by MIT professor Cynthia Breazeal, developing Jibo, the world's first social robot for the home.
- Founded
- 2012
- HQ
- Boston, MA, USA
- Status
- defunct (servers shut down March 2019; IP acquired by NTT Disruption)
Models
1
Overview
Jibo was an American social robotics company founded in 2012 by MIT professor Cynthia Breazeal, developing Jibo, the world's first social robot for the home. The company raised approximately $73M in venture funding and $2.3M on Indiegogo, shipped its first units in late 2017 at $899, and was named one of Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2017. After burning through its funding amid delays, competition from Amazon Echo and Google Home, and weaker-than-expected sales, Jibo laid off most staff in 2018 and shut down servers in March 2019.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
DEPLOY Intelligence
Market intelligence for physical AI
Analyst-grade signals, competitive tracking, and investment context across the global physical AI landscape. Launching 2026.
Key facts
CEO
Steve Chambers (former President of Nuance Communications)
Founder
Cynthia Breazeal (MIT Media Lab professor)
Total funding
Approximately $73M over 8 rounds
Crowdfunding
$2.3M raised on Indiegogo (2014)
Units shipped
Approximately 3,000 to Indiegogo backers
Retail price
$899
Recognition
Time Magazine Best Inventions of 2017
Status
Defunct, servers shut down March 2019
Data & sources
News coverage
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Founders (1)
- Cynthia Breazealno longer at company
Former / Previously (2)
- Steve Chambers CEO & Executive Chairmansecondary-verified
- Cynthia Breazeal founderreported, not verified
Safety record
No incidents on record for Jibo.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Recent coverage
Jibo in third-party press
Peer companies
- Enabot2 models
- Groove X2 models
- Intuition Robotics2 models
- KEYi Technology2 models
- PARO Robots2 models
- Blue Frog Robotics1 model
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- wound_down
- Counterparty risk class
- high
- Going concern
- flaggedDefunct (2019).
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Funding rounds (5)
- Series B2016-11-01
$13M(reported)
- Series A2015-12-01
$16M(reported)
- Series A2015-08-01
$11M(reported)
- Series A2015-01-20
$25M
- Seed2014-06-01
$5M(reported)
Sources (1)
Common questions
- What is Jibo?
- Jibo was an American social robotics company founded in 2012 by MIT professor Cynthia Breazeal, developing Jibo, the world's first social robot for the home. The company raised approximately $73M in venture funding and $2.3M on Indiegogo, shipped its first units in late 2017 at $899, and was named one of Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2017. After burning through its funding amid delays, competition from Amazon Echo and Google Home, and weaker-than-expected sales, Jibo laid off most staff in 2018 and shut down servers in March 2019.
- What does Jibo make?
- Jibo has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: Jibo (Jibo builds physical robots).
- Is Jibo publicly traded?
- Jibo is not independently listed on public markets; it is part of NTT Disruption on the DEPLOY registry.
- Who competes with Jibo?
- On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to Jibo building in the same form factors include Enabot, Groove X, Intuition Robotics, KEYi Technology.
- Where is Jibo headquartered?
- Jibo is headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.
- Where does Jibo operate robots?
- Jibo is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.
- Is Jibo a top robotics company?
- On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, Jibo ranks in roughly the top 38% of companies tracked by the registry.
- When was Jibo founded?
- Jibo was founded in 2012.
- Is Jibo safe?
- Jibo has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-09
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-09
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- secondary-industry-publication
- Industry publication
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Jibo.Peer companies
- Enabot2 models
- Groove X2 models
- Intuition Robotics2 models
- KEYi Technology2 models
- PARO Robots2 models
- Blue Frog Robotics1 model
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Jibo from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
My Jibo Is Dying and It's Breaking My Heart
WIRED eulogy for the Jibo social robot as its servers shut down, leaving the 99 devices non-functional.
Jibo social robot: where things went wrong
Analysis of why social robotics pioneer Jibo ran out of runway after burning through 3M, including delayed shipments, cancelled international orders, and competition from Amazon…
Jibo Is as Good as Social Robots Get. But Is That Good Enough?
IEEE Spectrum review of the Jibo social robot, questioning whether its capabilities justify the price premium over smart speakers.
Social Robot Jibo Begins Shipping
Jibo begins shipping its first units after years of delays, with the consumer version launching at 99.
Jibo, Inc., Raises 5.3M in Series A Financing
Jibo announces 5.3M Series A led by RRE Ventures, with CRV, Fairhaven, Osage University Partners, Flybridge, Two Sigma Ventures, Formation 8, and Samsung Ventures participating.…
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/jibo.md
- RSS feed: /companies/jibo/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/ecbf2d29-a180-4a34-bef3-2bc960e8eb38
- Revision history: /companies/jibo/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Enabot2 models
- Groove X2 models
- Intuition Robotics2 models
- KEYi Technology2 models
- PARO Robots2 models
- Blue Frog Robotics1 model
Video
Jibo... it was foretold to be so great, but in reality... Well, it's a Jibo. Let's get into exactly what that means. Buy our Jibo (Signed by us!) on ebay: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/202141150632 Buy Corsairs VOID PRO head
After waiting over 3 years Jibo has finally arrived. Watch as I unbox Jibo and test him out for the first time.
Jibo meets Cozmo for the first time. They don't seem to know each other, though. Someday, let's hope they'll be friends! If you'd like to buy Cozmo, please vis
Meet Jibo, The World’s First Social Robot for the Home Friendly, helpful and intelligent. He can sense and respond, and learns as you engage with him. More det
The long, slow death of Jibo the social robot (and the company that bore his name) is a tale fraught with practical lessons, from the fallibility of cloud compu
Two very different robots #amazonastro #astrorobot #astro #amazon #robots #jibo #jiborobot #jiboandfriends #thematrix #onesandzeros #macaroni #funnyrobot #short
Jibo is a robot of many talents. What other robot tries to do this?! #shorts #supersentai #jibo
Jibo is a social robot that doesn't look or act creepy. He doesn't have as many skills as an Amazon Echo or Google Home but he has the potential of being a real
Reality vs attention
Jibo draws attention at the 94th percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among companion_robot robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Funding runway warrants monitoring: last known round 118 months ago.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Jul 14, 2026