Roomba robot vacuum cleaner maker iRobot files for bankruptcy after 35 years

ISTANBUL

iRobot, the US company that created the Roomba smart vacuum cleaner, has declared bankruptcy due to tariffs and competition from Chinese competitors.

The company will be taken over by Shenzhen-based Picea Robotics, the primary maker of its products, via the "pre-packaged Chapter 11 process."

According to a statement released on Sunday, iRobot had to lower its prices and make significant investments in new technology due to the challenging business environment.

The majority of iRobot's gadgets for the US market are manufactured in Vietnam, where the US' 46% tariffs have raised the company's costs by $23 million this year, according to the company.

In 2021, the company was valued at $3.56 billion due to the pandemic's contribution to the high demand for its goods. It is currently worth about $140 million.

According to iRobot, its app, supply chains, and product support were not anticipated to be affected by the bankruptcy filing.

Before releasing the Roomba in 2002, iRobot was founded in 1990 by three members of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Artificial Intelligence Lab. According to the firm, the Roomba has roughly 42% of the robotic vacuum cleaner market in the US and 65% in Japan.

Last year, the EU's competition watchdog derailed Amazon's planned $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot.

Many companies, including iRobot, which depends on imports for product manufacture, have seen an increase in expenses due to trade tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on items entering the country from overseas. Trump has claimed that the tariffs would increase American manufacturing and employment.

The overtaking firm, Picea, is a robotic vacuum cleaner manufacturer with production and research facilities in Vietnam and China. It has sold over 20 million robotic vacuum cleaners and employs over 7,000 people worldwide.