ROBOTIC
The Roomba empire finally stumbled
iRobot, the company behind the Roomba, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after years of financial pressure.
It will now be acquired by its long-time manufacturing partner, the China-based Picea Robotics.
For customers, nothing changes right now. iRobot says its app, support, supply chain, and partners will continue as normal, so your Roomba should keep working without any issues.
The company, founded in 1990, once dominated the robot vacuum market but has lost ground to rivals like Ecovacs and Roborock.
A planned Amazon takeover in 2022 could have helped, but it collapsed after regulators raised concerns.
In brief:
iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 and expects to be acquired by Picea Robotics.
No immediate changes for Roomba owners.
Competition and tariffs contributed to years of declining revenue.
A comeback… maybe?
Since then, iRobot has refreshed its products and cut prices to compete, working closely with Picea on new models.
But revenue has kept falling. Reuters reports that US tariffs also hit the business hard, especially the 46% rate on vacuums made in Vietnam.
CEO Gary Cohen said the bankruptcy is a “pivotal milestone” and a step to secure iRobot’s future.
They survived spilled cereal, but not tariffs. WILD - MG