Robot vacuum Roomba maker files for bankruptcy after 35 years
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The company will go private after handing control of the consumer robot maker to Shenzhen Picea Robotics.
PHOTO: IROBOT
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NEW YORK - Roomba vacuum cleaner’s maker, iRobot, said on Dec 14 that it had filed for bankruptcy protection as it grapples with increased competition from lower-priced rivals and US tariffs.
The company will go private after being bought by Picea Robotics, its primary manufacturer.
iRobot generated about US$682 million (S$880 million) in total revenue in 2024, but its profits have been eroded by competition from Chinese rivals like Ecovacs Robotics. iRobot remains dominant in key markets like the US and Japan, but competition forced it to lower its prices and make substantial investments in technological upgrades, according to bankruptcy court filings.
New US tariffs have also harmed the company, especially a 46 per cent levy on imports from Vietnam, where iRobot manufactures vacuum cleaners for the US market. The tariffs raised the company’s costs by US$23 million in 2025, while making it more difficult to plan for the future, according to iRobot’s court filings.
The company, which was the target of a thwarted US$1.4 billion buyout by Amazon.com in 2023, has about US$190 million in debt.
The debt stems from a 2023 loan that iRobot used to refinance its operations while a European competition investigation stalled the Amazon deal. After the Amazon deal fell apart and iRobot fell behind on payments to Picea, the China-based manufacturer acquired iRobot’s debt from a group of investment funds managed by the Carlyle Group, according to court documents.
Under iRobot’s bankruptcy plan, Picea will take 100 per cent of the company’s equity and cancel the US$190 million remaining on the 2023 loan, as well as an additional US$74 million debt that iRobot owes to Picea under the companies’ manufacturing agreement.
Other creditors and suppliers will be paid in full, according to iRobot’s bankruptcy court filings.
iRobot said the bankruptcy is not expected to disrupt its app functionality, customer programmes, global partners, supply chain relationships or product support.
The loss-making company was valued at US$3.56 billion in 2021, driven by pandemic-fuelled demand, but it is now worth around US$140 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.
iRobot was founded in 1990 by three Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists. It initially focused on defence and space work before debuting the Roomba robotic vacuum in 2002.
The Roomba was an immediate success and it holds about 42 per cent of the US market share and 65 per cent of the Japanese market share for robotic vacuum cleaners, according to the company.
iRobot is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, and it has 274 employees, according to court documents. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
