tech:

taffy

IRobot Restructures Company

[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

IRobot is restructuring the company into three newly formed business units focused on home robots, military robots and emerging technologies led by Jeffrey Beck as chief operating officer (COO).

Joe Dyer, who most recently held the position of COO, has been named chief strategy officer (CSO). As CSO, Dyer will lead strategic business development, mergers and acquisitions, research and advanced technology development.

Colin Angle (Chairman and CEO, iRobot): The use of iRobot platforms and technologies outside of the home and military markets has grown to a point where developing new products in the existing business structure limited our potential for growth. The new structure allows us to build market-facing business units around new opportunities and energize rapid product development.

Details about the three newly formed business units:

Home Robots Business Unit: Marc Dinee has been named general manager of the Home Robots business unit. Mr. Dinee has been with iRobot for two years, most recently as vice president of sales and marketing for EMEA and APAC. To date, iRobot has sold more than 7.5 million home robots worldwide.

Military Robots Business Unit: Tim Trainer will serve as interim general manager of the Military Robots business unit. Mr.Trainer has been with iRobot for three years, serving most recently as vice president of operations for the Government and Industrial Robots division, where he was responsible for all manufacturing, contracting and program management. IRobot has delivered more than 4,500 combat-proven military robots have been delivered to military and civil defense forces worldwide.

Emerging Technologies Business Unit
IRobot Ava is a mobile robotics platform. New market opportunities for iRobot Ava in industries including healthcare, retail and security present unique opportunities. The company recently announced a $6 million investment and expanded partnership with InTouch Health, a remote presence telemedicine solution provider. Existing leadership will be responsible for these industry pursuits until a unit leader is appointed.

Just in

Apple sued in a landmark iPhone monopoly lawsuit — CNN

The US Justice Department and more than a dozen states filed a blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Apple on Thursday, accusing the giant company of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market, writes Brian Fung, Hannah Rabinowitz and Evan Perez.

Google is bringing satellite messaging to Android 15 — The Verge

Google’s second developer preview for Android 15 has arrived, bringing long-awaited support for satellite connectivity alongside several improvements to contactless payments, multi-language recognition, volume consistency, and interaction with PDFs via apps, writes Jess Weatherbed. 

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is paid more than the heads of Meta, Pinterest, and Snap — combined — QZ

Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman has been blasted by Redditors and in media reports over his recently-revealed, super-sized pay package of $193 million in 2023, writes Laura Bratton. 

British AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman joins Microsoft — BBC

Microsoft has announced British Artificial Intelligence pioneer Mustafa Suleyman will lead its newly-formed division, Microsoft AI, according to the BBC report. 

UnitedHealth Group has paid more than $2 billion to providers following cyberattack — CNBC

UnitedHealth Group said Monday that it’s paid out more than $2 billion to help health-care providers who have been affected by the cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare, writes Ashley Capoot.