Roomba’s Creator Files Bankruptcy While Vacuum Scoots Away to China
KEY POINTS
- •iRobot, creators of Roomba, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday in Delaware after decades of operation.
- •Amazon’s $1.7 billion acquisition collapsed in January 2024 due to regulatory issues in the US and Europe.
- •iRobot will be acquired by Picea, a Chinese manufacturer and lender, and will become a private company.
After 35 years of vacuuming chores and robotic dreams, iRobot—parents of the famed disc-shaped Roomba—pulled the plug with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last Sunday in Delaware. Founded in 1990 by three MIT roboticists, their $1.7 billion Amazon buyout tanked in January 2024, thanks to regulatory buzzkills in the US and Europe. With cash dwindling from $40.6 million in June to a mere $24.8 million in late September, and no bailout in sight, iRobot turned to Shenzhen’s Picea, its main lender and new boss. Goodbye Dyson, hello Picea’s China/Vietnam R&D labs. Common stock? Poof. The CEO and 31% of staff got vacuumed out that same grim day.
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A company that makes robotic vacuums ran out of cash cleaning up its own financial mess and hired China to take over. If only Roomba sucked money as well as dirt.
When your Roomba cleans your floors better than your company cleans its finances, it’s time for a new owner from China.
iRobot’s financials said 'clean please,' but creditors just slammed the vacuum bucket shut and walked away.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 12/15/2025 | Author: Aditi Bharade
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