{"id":"ecbf2d29-a180-4a34-bef3-2bc960e8eb38","name":"Jibo","slug":"jibo","description":"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](/companies/amazon) Echo and Google Home, and weaker-than-expected sales, Jibo laid off most staff in 2018 and shut down servers in March 2019.","status":"defunct (servers shut down March 2019; IP acquired by NTT Disruption)","founded":2012,"hq":"Boston, MA, USA","hqLat":42.3588336,"hqLng":-71.0578303,"hqGeocodedAt":"2026-08-05T00:51:07.088Z","hqAddress":null,"hqPrecision":null,"website":"jibontheweb.com","fundingTotal":"70400000","type":"hardware","roles":["robot_maker"],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://spectrum.ieee.org/anki-jibo-and-kuri-what-we-can-learn-from-social-robotics-failures","title":"Anki, Jibo, and Kuri social-robot failures","date_accessed":"2026-06-23"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"CEO","value":"Steve Chambers (former President of Nuance Communications)"},{"label":"Founder","value":"Cynthia Breazeal (MIT Media Lab professor)"},{"label":"Total funding","value":"Approximately $73M over 8 rounds"},{"label":"Crowdfunding","value":"$2.3M raised on Indiegogo (2014)"},{"label":"Units shipped","value":"Approximately 3,000 to Indiegogo backers"},{"label":"Retail price","value":"$899"},{"label":"Recognition","value":"Time Magazine Best Inventions of 2017"},{"label":"Status","value":"Defunct, servers shut down March 2019"}],"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"tickerSymbol":null,"stockExchange":null,"secCik":null,"revenueUsd":null,"revenueBasis":null,"revenueAsOf":null,"employeeCount":null,"employeeCountBasis":null,"employeeCountAsOf":null,"marketCapUsd":null,"marketCapAsOf":null,"marketCapSource":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-24T01:51:55.097Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-21T22:18:03.980Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/jibo","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/jibo","name":"Jibo","description":"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](/companies/amazon) Echo and Google Home, and weaker-than-expected sales, Jibo laid off most staff in 2018 and shut down servers in March 2019.","identifier":"ecbf2d29-a180-4a34-bef3-2bc960e8eb38","foundingDate":"2012","address":"Boston, MA, USA","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":1,"primary_source_types":["secondary-industry-publication"]}}}