This likely won’t come as a surprise to anyone who saw the news late last month, but Mayfield Robotics, maker of the adorable home robot Kuri announced today that it’s ceasing operations. The company, which began life as a part of Bosch, will close its doors by the end of October this year.
In July, Mayfield announced that it was ending the manufacture of Kuri, the home assistant it debuted at CES back in 2015. The news came as Bosch determined that there wasn’t a place for Mayfield or Kuri in its larger portfolio. At the time, the company noted that its future was up in the air, but still sounded somewhat hopeful that it might eventually find a home.
“Creating a robot like Kuri is a massive undertaking,” Mayfield wrote at the time. “We don’t know what the coming months will bring. Regardless, we stand firm in our belief that the home robot Renaissance is just beginning, and it’s going to be amazing.”
in spite of that optimism, Kuri is the latest in a long line of attempts at a home robot that ultimately missed the mark, due in part to prohibitively steep price tag.
After meeting with “dozens of companies” and seeking other investments, however, Mayfield is calling it a day. “Our team is beyond disappointed, it wrote in a blog post today. “Together we’ve spent the past four years designing and building not just Kuri, but also an equally incredible company culture and spirit.”
In the coming months, Mayfield says it will work to help employees find jobs within the larger Bosch umbrella.
Source: Tech Crunch