# Colin Angle

> Colin Angle is the co-founder and CEO of Familiar Machines & Magic and a co-founder of iRobot. He served as iRobot CEO from June 1997 to January 2024 and chairman from October 2008 to January 2024. His work spans MIT walking robots, the commercialization of Roomba, robotics entrepreneurship and STEM education. In May 2026 he unveiled a four-legged Familiar companion prototype.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Familiar Machines & Magic
- **Organizations:** Familiar Machines & Magic, iRobot (co-founder; former CEO and chairman), MassRobotics (founding board member), Plug Power (director), Science from Scientists (board chairman), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (earlier career)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, M.S. in Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Helped scale iRobot to more than 50 million home products by his January 2024 departure., Led iRobot through its 2005 Nasdaq listing., Contributed to behavior-controlled rover development preceding NASA’s Sojourner.

## Career timeline

- **1989** — Completed MIT undergraduate degree; developed small walking robots in Rodney Brooks’s lab.
- **1990** — Co-founded iRobot with Helen Greiner and Rodney Brooks.
- **1991** — Completed MIT master’s degree.
- **1992** — Became iRobot president in November; joined its board in October.
- **1997** — Became iRobot CEO in June.
- **2002** — iRobot introduced Roomba.
- **2005** — iRobot began trading on Nasdaq.
- **2008** — Became iRobot chairman in October.
- **2010** — Helped establish National Robotics Week.
- **2019** — Inducted into the Consumer Technology Hall of Fame.
- **2024** — Stepped down as iRobot CEO and chairman on January 29; subsequently co-founded Familiar Machines & Magic. Joined Plug Power’s board in August.
- **2026** — Received the Commonwealth Award in March; unveiled the Familiar prototype on May 4.

## Achievements

- Helped scale iRobot to more than 50 million home products by his January 2024 departure.
- Led iRobot through its 2005 Nasdaq listing.
- Contributed to behavior-controlled rover development preceding NASA’s Sojourner.
- Consumer Technology Hall of Fame inductee, 2019.
- Commonwealth Award recipient, Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, March 19, 2026.
- Helped establish National Robotics Week and served as a founding MassRobotics board member.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — MIT featured his entrepreneurial experience in its Founder’s Journey course coverage.
- **2026-05** — Unveiled the Familiar prototype at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything conference on May 4; described a planned 2027 product launch in a contemporaneous interview.
- **2026-03** — Received the MTLC Commonwealth Award on March 19.

## Links

- Website: https://www.familiarmachines.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinangle
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/colinangle

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/colin-angle
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22