Roomba maker iRobot goes bust post-Amazon deal disaster

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iRobot, the Massachusetts company behind Roomba robot vacuums, has filed for bankruptcy protection and will cede control to its main Chinese manufacturing partner after years of mounting pressure on its business.

The company said a mix of tougher competition from low‑cost rivals and higher import costs driven by U.S. tariffs helped push it over the edge.

Under a restructuring deal, iRobot will transfer 100% of its equity to Shenzhen Picea Robotics, the supplier that builds its robots, in exchange for wiping out hundreds of millions of dollars in debt owed to the manufacturer.

Court filings show iRobot owes about $352 million to Picea, including roughly $91 million that is already past due.

The company traced a key part of its financial strain to tariffs first imposed during Donald Trump’s presidency, noting that even after shifting production for the U.S. market to Vietnam, its vacuums still faced combined duties of about 46%.

iRobot said those trade measures added around $23 million in costs this year and made it harder to chart a long‑term strategy.

iRobot, founded in 1990 by MIT engineers, once dominated the robot vacuum category after launching the Roomba in 2002 and at one point controlled more than 40% of the U.S. market.

The company enjoyed a pandemic‑era sales boost and reached a valuation of about $3.56 billion in 2021, but its fortunes reversed as new competitors poured in and prices fell.

A planned acquisition by Amazon collapsed earlier this year after European Union regulators moved to block the deal on antitrust grounds, leaving iRobot to restructure on its own.

The company says its app, existing products, and customer support will keep operating during the bankruptcy process.

Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com.