Amazon has announced the discontinuation of its Astro for Business security robot in order to focus on developing household robots. The robot was initially launched for domestic use in 2021 and later expanded to various business sectors such as retail and manufacturing in November of the same year.
In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson explained that the company is winding down support for Astro for Business in order to accelerate progress and ongoing research to improve the in-home robot. The Astro for Business robot was designed to provide round-the-clock business monitoring and was sold for $2,349.99. However, customers have been informed that these robots will cease to be operational as of 25 September 2024.
To support customers in finding alternative workplace solutions, Amazon is offering a $300 credit and will refund any pre-paid Astro Secure subscription fees from 3 July 2024. The product was only available in the US. Additionally, last month Amazon announced a significant investment of €10bn ($10.7bn) in Germany to enhance its cloud infrastructure and logistics network, creating 4,000 new jobs in 2024 and increasing its total permanent workforce in Germany to over 40,000.
This investment is part of a broader commitment to Germany totaling €17.8bn, including a €7.8bn AWS European Sovereign Cloud investment. The AWS European Sovereign Cloud, an independent cloud for Europe, is expected to launch its first AWS Region in the State of Brandenburg by the end of 2025