iRobot, the firm behind the Roomba smart vacuum cleaner, has filed for bankruptcy after facing competition from Chinese rivals and being hit by tariffs. The company said it would go private after being bought by Picea Robotics, its primary manufacturer. The company, which raised concerns about staying in business in March, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy.
iRobot generated about $682 million in total revenue in 2024, but its profits have been eroded by competition from Chinese rivals like Ecovacs Robotics. While the company remains dominant in key markets like the U.S. and Japan, competition made it lower its prices and make substantial investments in technological upgrades, according to bankruptcy court filings.
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The new U.S. tariffs have harmed the company with the 46% levy on Vietnam, where iRobot manufactures vacuum cleaners for the U.S. market. The tariffs raised the company’s costs by $23 million in 2025, while making it more difficult to plan for the future, according to iRobot’s court filings.
iRobot was previously a target of a $1.4 billion takeover by Amazon, which did not go through. The debt stems from a 2023 loan that iRobot used to refinance its operations while a European competition investigation stalled the Amazon deal. iRobot fell behind on payments to Picea following the failure of the Amazon takeover. 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% of the company’s equity and cancel the $190 million remaining on the 2023 loan, as well as an additional $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.
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On Friday, iRobot’s shares fell by more than 13% on the technology-heavy Nasdaq trading platform in New York. iRobot said the bankruptcy filing was not expected to disrupt its app, supply chains or product support. The Roomba holds about 42% of the U.S. market share and 65% of the Japanese market share for robotic vacuum cleaners, according to the company.
iRobot was founded in 1990 by three members of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Artificial Intelligence Lab. The company initially focused on defense and space technology before launching the Roomba in 2002.
Picea is a manufacturer of robotic vacuum cleaners, with research and development and production facilities in China and Vietnam. It has more than 7,000 employees worldwide and has sold more than 20 million robotic vacuum cleaners.