The Robot Report

  • Research
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • Grippers / End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors / Sensing Systems
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • A.I. / Cognition
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Exoskeletons
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Markets
    • Agriculture
    • Defense / Security
    • Healthcare
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
  • Investments
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Issues
    • Publications
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
      • Robotics Business Review
    • RBR50
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness Direct
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
  • Podcast

Keecker consumer robotics company shuts down

By Steve Crowe | March 18, 2019


Keecker

Keecker consumer robot

Keecker, a consumer robotics company based in France, has closed down. Founded in 2012, Keecker raised $8 million, according to Crunchbase, and was building a consumer robot that could autonomously navigate and provide users with entertainment, security, communication, and smart home data.

Pierre Lebeau, founder and CEO of Keecker, made the announcement in a blog. Lebeau said Keecker “ran out of cash” as it was unable to find investors to keep the company going.

Lebeau said the company had “over 1000 robots out there, thousands of users and have seen some amazing stats like 3.5 hours of usage [per] day.” Keecker did not receive as much attention as Jibo and Kuri, but it suffered the same fate, unfortunately. Jibo recently turned off its servers, which will severely limit the functionality of the robots in the field, while Mayfield Robotics shut down Kuri before it was shipped to consumer’s homes.

Here’s more from Lebeau:

“Building a profitable cash machine in B2C robotics is harder and we couldn’t convince investors to further fund us.

“We’ve seen other like Jibo and Kuri fail last year, we fought like dogs not to follow their path, but in the end there is a strong sentiment again consumer robots that we couldn’t get past. In the end consumer electronics is a tough market were David is likely to fall against the many Goliath.

Robotics Summit & Expo 2019 logoKeynotes | Agenda | Speakers | Exhibitors | Register

“Keecker was a dream, a dream to think about users first, a dream to focus on shared tech (TVs, speakers) and a dream to engage with people in a much more useful way.

“We know that one day, pretty soon, big brands will launch similar products. Our dream wasn’t wrong, we just tackled a big problem with little means and weren’t able to convince enough investors to get behind our project.

“Maybe we were too early, maybe we were too expensive, maybe we didn’t try all possible ways to make money, maybe we weren’t good enough, maybe we didn’t meet the right people, lots of possible causes but in the end, I am proud of what we achieved, I’m unbelievably proud of the team that put all these long hours to build this product and proud of the 6 years we had at Keecker.”

Lebeau said Keecker published its last Over The Air (OTA) update to all its robots on March 8, along with a new version of the Android and iOS apps. Through the update, the company removed its dependencies on its servers, which will no longer function over time. Lebeau said the robots will continue to function without requiring Keecker servers, enabling customers to still watch movies and play music. However, features such as remote video access, home analytics, video conferencing and more will disappear.

The video below gives a glimpse at what Keecker was able to do. This story is developing and will be updated accordingly.

About The Author

Steve Crowe

Steve Crowe is Editor of The Robot Report and co-chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo. He joined WTWH Media in January 2018 after spending four-plus years as Managing Editor of Robotics Trends Media. He can be reached at [email protected]

Comments

  1. Mark A Yono says

    March 20, 2019 at 4:39 pm

    Cool product, probably needed more marketing and promotion!

    Reply

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles Read More >

Laser-steering microrobot aims to refine minimally invasive surgery
WeRide
China’s WeRide raises another $110M for autonomous vehicles
Boston Dynamics robots dancing
How Boston Dynamics’ robots learned to dance
Leadec Diversified Automation
Leadec acquires Diversified Automation to expand robotics play

Robotics Year in Review

The Robot Report Listing Database

Latest Robotics News

Robot Report Podcast

Teradyne’s acquisition strategy & the future of cobot

The Robot Report Podcast · Teradyne's acquisition strategy & the future of cobots

Sponsored Content

  • Doosan Robotics: Driving Innovation and Growth in Cobots
  • FORT Robotics Podcast: FORT Robotics on how to keep humans safe and in control of robots
  • Pallet Detection Systems Help Automated Forklifts Modernize Warehouse Operations
  • IES Servo Control Gripper
  • How to cut the cost of manufacturing

Tweets by RoboticTips

The Robot Report
  • Collaborative Robotics Trends
  • Field Robotics Forum
  • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
  • RoboBusiness Event
  • Robotics Business Review
  • Robotics Summit & Expo
  • About The Robot Report
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2021 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search The Robot Report

  • Research
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • Grippers / End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors / Sensing Systems
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • A.I. / Cognition
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Exoskeletons
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Markets
    • Agriculture
    • Defense / Security
    • Healthcare
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
  • Investments
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Issues
    • Publications
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
      • Robotics Business Review
    • RBR50
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness Direct
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
  • Podcast