#Neato series#

On January 1, 2018, Matt Petersen was named CEO. In September 2017, the company was purchased by German appliance manufacturer Vorwerk, but continued to operate as an independent subsidiary. In November 2016, the company integrated Amazon Alexa voice control technology with its Botvac Connected vacuum.

#Neato series#

The Connected series also replaced the NiMh battery with a lithium ion, and added a phone app. In September, the company released its Botvac Connected cleaner, the first robotic vacuum to feature Wi-Fi. In May 2015, the company released its more powerful Botvac D series. This model incorporated a rotating side brush previously available only on the Vorwerk Kobold models in Germany. In March 2014, Neato Robotics released an expanded model series named Botvac. In March, the company announced new black models Signature XV and Signature Pro, with increased extraction power. In 2013, venture capitalist and former Logitech co-founder Giacomo Marini was named company CEO. In 2012, Neato Robotics released the Neato XV-21, incorporating some features previously available on the Vorwerk Kobold. In October, the company produced a white version of the XV-15 called SV-12. In June, the company released the XV-15, a European version of the XV-11. In 2011, an enhanced version of its robotic vacuum cleaner was developed under contract for German appliance maker Vorwerk's Kobold subsidiary and distributed in Germany as the Vorwerk VR-100. In February 2010, the company released its first product, the XV-11 robotic vacuum cleaner. Neato was founded in Newark, California in 2005 by Stanford alumni Joe Augenbraun, Linda Pouliot and JB Gomez through Stanford's annual Entrepreneur Challenge.