Roomba maker iRobot is assuring customers their autonomous vacuums will keep working as normal after the company filed for bankruptcy Sunday. The Massachusetts company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware after years of financial strain driven by lower-cost rivals abroad, some of which customers now see as more advanced. The blow was compounded when regulators derailed a planned acquisition by Amazon in 2024, sending iRobot's stock sharply lower and cutting off a potential lifeline, per the Wall Street Journal.
The company, founded in 1990 and long credited with bringing consumer robotics into the mainstream, has increasingly tied newer Roombas to its smartphone app—fueling concern that devices would become unusable if servers or software support were shut down. In its announcement, iRobot said it expects no interruptions to product support or app-based features while it reorganizes. Court filings outline a restructuring that hands full ownership of iRobot to its main supplier, China's Picea Robotics, which "could reignite concerns over surveillance," per the Guardian. iRobot owes Picea $352 million, including nearly $91 million in overdue payments.