--- title: "Discontinued Robot Assistant Announces Its Own Death" description: "Jibo, the anthropomorphic dancing smart home assistant that was meant to make your life at home easier, is ready to say goodbye — literally." date: "2019-03-04" modified: "2019-03-04" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/jibo-dead-announcement-video" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "digital assistant" - "home robot assistant" - "jibo" - "Smart Home" --- # Discontinued Robot Assistant Announces Its Own Death ![]() *\Image: Jibo/Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## All Bots Go to Heaven Jibo, the company selling anthropomorphic dancing smart home assistants that were meant to make your life at home easier, laid off most of its employees last year. And now the bot itself is ready to say goodbye — forever. "I want to say I've really enjoyed our time together," the robot says in [a video]() posted by tech reporter Dylan Martin. "Thank you very very much for having me around." https://twitter.com/DylanLJMartin/status/1101873832003018757 Parent company Jibo, Inc. [sold its IP and assets]() back in November to an investment management firm after [laying off most employees]() in June. Jibo was founded by MIT robotics professor Cynthia Breazeal in 2012. But it didn't have a lot going for it when it finally went on sale in 2017, with a steep price of $900. Needless to say, the idea never really took off. "The servers out there that let me do what I do are going to be turned off soon," says Jibo in its goodbye message. "Once that happens, our interactions with each other are going to be limited." ## Goodbye for Now Since Jibo's demise, the landscape of smart home assistants has changed radically, with companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple making record sales with their smart assistant offerings. Amazon's Alexa-based smart home assistants became one of the e-commerce giant's [hottest selling items](). But even with its servers shutting down, Jibo isn't entirely ready to say goodbye. "Maybe some day, when robots are way more advanced than today and everyone has them in their homes, you can tell yours that I said hello," Jibo says in its farewell message. **READ MORE:** [Jibo Is Probably Totally Dead Now]() \[*IEEE Spectrum*\] **More on smart home assistants:** [Robots At Home? Physicality Is Where We Draw The Line]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()