Colin Angle, co-founder of Roomba maker iRobot, is raising money for his home robotics startup.

A. filing A survey with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that Angle's new company, Familiar Machines & Magic, is trying to raise $30 million. So far, it has raised $15 million from a group of eight investors.

Backers are not identified by name in the application, known as Form D. But Data Point Capital lists Tanıdık Makinaler is listed on the website as one of the portfolio companies of the VC firm.

Familiar Machines have a feature domain name And trademark application but it is not a functional website. Angle did not respond to a request for comment via LinkedIn message.

One last interview Angle told The Boston Globe that Boston-based Familiar Machines, which plans to be based in Los Angeles, will develop a new type of home robot focused on health and wellness. In addition to Angle, the co-founders include former iRobot CTO Chris Jones and iRobot alumnus Ira Renfrew. Notably, Renfrew also helped create Amazon's now-defunct app. scout delivery boat.

Familiar Machines is exploring robots as companions, including potentially AI-powered "furry pets," according to The Globe, citing an investor. The company is also hiring AI researchers and software engineers, among other roles.

Familiar Machines' job description on LinkedIn "We are pioneering an exciting new home robot category in health and wellness with a significant focus on human-robot interaction." reader. “Embodied and actionable AI is at the core of our product vision.”

Angle resigned from iRobot in January after Amazon's bid to buy the company failed in the face of opposition from EU antitrust regulators. iRobot was forced to lay off 31% of its staff, and former Procter & Gamble chief executive Gary Cohen was appointed as the company's new CEO.

Angle has dabbled with home robots before. In the early 2000s, iRobot created a roommate robot prototype called Grommet, The Globe reported.

But the home robotics market has proven to be a tough nut to crack.

Supported by Bosch in 2018 Mayfield Robotics At a time when the future was in doubt, Kuri halted production of his robot companion. Same year, desktop robot creator for a ended operations. AnkiThe company behind the viral robot Cozmo closed in 2019. moxieThe company that made an AI-powered robot for children suddenly closed last week.

But failures do not deter tech giants. Amazon continues to find a fit for its Astro home robot, and Apple is reportedly working on it too home robotics somehow

By the way According to Markets and Markets, the home robots segment could be worth $24.5 billion by 2028. Approximately 1,500 robotics startups, raised Nearly $90 billion since 2019, according to F-Prime, the venture capital arm of Fidelity Investments.