Today in the Connected Economy: Amazon Buys iRobot, Partners With Veritone

Today in the connected economy, Amazon pays $1.7 billion to acquire Roomba-maker iRobot, part of the company’s effort to boost its smart home offerings. Plus, Amazon and its cloud company Amazon Web Services (AWS) extend their partnership with the artificial intelligence (AI) firm Veritone, and Payoneer becomes the official payments company of the ZEPETO metaverse.

$1.7B iRobot Deal Clears Path for Amazon’s Smart Home Ambitions

Amazon is acquiring iRobot in a $1.7 billion all-cash deal as the eCommerce giant deepens its efforts to make robotic assistants a centerpiece of its smart home offerings. “We know that saving time matters, and chores take precious time that can be better spent doing something that customers love,” said Amazon Devices Senior Vice President David Limp.

AI Firm Veritone Extends Amazon, AWS Partnerships

AI firm Veritone is extending its collaboration with Amazon and AWS to support its clients in the media and entertainment sectors. Veritone joined the AWS Media & Entertainment initiative in 2021. The program helps content creators, rights holders, producers and distributors identify industry-specific AWS capabilities.

Payoneer Named Payment Provider for ZEPETO Metaverse

Payments platform Payoneer has been named the global payment provider for ZEPETO, a 320 million-member metaverse platform owned by internet company Naver Z. The company will help ZEPETO content creators pay and get paid in multiple currencies and geographies, and in doing so, expand ZEPETO’s businesses on a global scale.

Quarate Retail Plans Turnaround Amid 16% Revenue Drop

Video commerce giant and QVC owner Quarate Retail is undertaking a turnaround plan after reporting across-the-board declines in revenue. Quarate’s second-quarter earnings report showed the company’s revenue fell 16% to $3 billion, while its eCommerce revenue dropped 17% to $1.8 billion, which accounts for 61% of its total revenue. Meanwhile, QVC International revenue declined 19%, while revenues for brands Zulily and Cornerstone were down by a respective 45% and 4%.