Roomba maker iRobot files for bankruptcy, pursues manufacturer buyout

iRobot, the shaper of the Roomba vacuum cleaner, filed for bankruptcy extortion connected Sunday, saying that it would spell backstage aft being bought by Picea Robotics, its superior manufacturer. The company, which raised concerns astir staying successful concern successful March, filed for Chapter 11 extortion successful Delaware bankruptcy tribunal arsenic it grapples with accrued contention from lower-priced rivals and caller U.S. tariffs.

iRobot generated astir $682 cardinal successful full gross successful 2024, but its profits person been eroded by contention from Chinese rivals similar Ecovacs Robotics. iRobot remains ascendant successful cardinal markets similar the U.S. and Japan, but contention forced it to little its prices and marque important investments successful technological upgrades, according to bankruptcy tribunal filings.

New U.S. tariffs person besides harmed the company, particularly a 46% levy connected imports from Vietnam, wherever iRobot manufactures vacuum cleaners for the U.S. market. The tariffs raised the company's costs by $23 cardinal successful 2025, portion making it much hard to program for the future, according to iRobot's tribunal filings.

The company, which was the people of a thwarted $1.4 cardinal buyout by Amazon.com, has astir $190 cardinal successful debt.

The indebtedness stems from a 2023 indebtedness that iRobot utilized to refinance its operations, portion a European contention probe stalled the Amazon deal.

After the Amazon woody fell isolated and iRobot fell down connected payments to Picea, the China-based shaper acquired iRobot's indebtedness from a radical of concern funds managed by the Carlyle Group, according to tribunal documents.

Under iRobot's bankruptcy plan, Picea volition instrumentality 100% of the company's equity and cancel the $190 cardinal remaining connected the 2023 loan, arsenic good arsenic an further $74 cardinal indebtedness that iRobot owes to Picea nether the companies' manufacturing agreement.

Other creditors and suppliers volition beryllium paid successful full, according to iRobot's bankruptcy tribunal filings.

iRobot said the bankruptcy is not expected to disrupt its app functionality, lawsuit programs, planetary partners, proviso concatenation relationships oregon merchandise support.

The loss-making institution was valued astatine $3.56 cardinal successful 2021, driven by pandemic-fueled demand, but it is present worthy astir $140 million, according to information compiled by LSEG.

iRobot was founded successful 1990 by 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists. It initially focused connected defence and abstraction enactment earlier debuting the Roomba robotic vacuum successful 2002.

The Roomba was an contiguous occurrence and it holds astir 42% of the U.S. marketplace stock and 65% of the Japanese marketplace stock for robotic vacuum cleaners, according to the company.

iRobot is headquartered successful Bedford, Massachusetts, and it has 274 employees, according to tribunal documents.