Robotic toy maker Sphero names Paul Copioli as its new CEO and announces a spin-off company called Company Six, making robotic systems for first responders
Sphero just announced that it has spun off another company. Once again, the new startup has a decidedly different focus …
Context & Ripple Effects
Sphero's path to this announcement runs through a years-long retreat from toys: after a disappointing holiday season it cut 45 staff in early 2018 (its January restructuring) and repositioned around education, then bought its way deeper into that market with the acquisition of electronics-kit maker littleBits in 2019.
The company has also spun off before — Misty Robotics raised an $11.5M Series A in 2017 (to build a home robot) — so naming Paul Copioli CEO while carving out Company Six for first-responder robotics is the second time Sphero has separated a non-toy bet into its own company.
First-order effects
- Paul Copioli takes over Sphero itself, meaning the education-focused toy and kit business now runs under new leadership while Company Six operates independently targeting first responders.
- Company Six starts life with Sphero's robotics engineering base pointed at public-safety customers rather than consumers or classrooms.
Second-order effects
- Sphero's capital and talent now divide between two markets with different buyers — schools and families versus police, fire, and emergency agencies — forcing each entity to raise or allocate funding against its own customer base rather than cross-subsidize from toy sales.
- The first-responder robotics segment gains a new entrant with consumer-grade manufacturing experience, putting pressure on incumbents serving that buyer.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — Misty for the home, Company Six for public safety — Sphero functions less like a single product company and more like an incubator that seeds focused robotics ventures from one engineering core, a structure other consumer-robotics firms may adopt as toy margins stay thin.
The trend: Consumer robotics companies are splitting into focused verticals through spin-offs, letting each unit chase distinct buyers instead of stretching one brand across them.