iRobot, once the company synonymous with robot vacuums, might not make it another year. For many years, iRobot was the company you thought of, when you thought of robot vacuums. It wasn’t “I have a robot vacuum”, no, it was “I have a Roomba,” even if it was another brand. Similar to Google and Search, or Galaxy and Android. But, as of late, iRobot has been struggling pretty hard.
Back in August of 2022, Amazon had announced it was going to acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion. But, regulators shut that down. So it abandoned this deal in 2024. Since then, iRobot has been spiraling the drain.
Since Amazon abandoned the deal, iRobot has been looking for new buyers for the company, with the last remaining buyer having withdrawn from negotiations this month. So now, iRobot is warning of bankruptcy if it cannot find a new buyer or secure more funding.
As a robot vacuum reviewer, one who has reviewed probably over 100 robot vacuums in the last 7 years, I saw this coming. Let’s explore why I saw this coming.
iRobot hasn’t been competitive in years
Let’s call a spade a spade, iRobot hasn’t been very competitive in years, in the robot vacuum space. It took them many years after the competition to finally add a mop to their vacuums. They were also far behind the competition in adding an auto-empty dock. While also charging more than many of its competitors, like Roborock, Dreame, Mova, and others.
iRobot was only selling decently because of its name. I’ve reviewed a couple of iRobot’s options over the past few years, and honestly, I was not impressed. Especially when you factor in their price. I reviewed their first vacuum and mop combo, the Roomba Combo j7+, which was $1,099, and I felt that it was overengineered compared to other combo vacuums. Instead of just lifting up the mop, iRobot had the mop lift up over the entire vacuum and sit on top of the vacuum. While cool, it was over-engineered and likely what drove the cost up.
Meanwhile, competitors had moved onto using dual mops, focusing on anti-tangling from hair, and other innovative features. In fact, many can go up and down stairs now. What about iRobot? Well, it can still clean your floors.
It’s almost like iRobot believes that the Chinese brands don’t exist in the US. That might work for Apple and Samsung in the US with smartphones, but for robot vacuums, that’s not a thing. Brands like Roborock, ECOVACS, Dreame, and Mova are all available in the US, and many are available in physical stores next to iRobot.
What happened?
Like a lot of companies that we’ve watched fail over the years, iRobot was stuck in its ways. They were stuck thinking they were the only player in the world of robot vacuums. Which is far from the truth. Between the lack of innovation and the pretty high prices, iRobot just can’t compete these days.
On top of that, the world is in a recession, which is affecting all robot vacuum companies. These are not seen as necessities for most people. Not to mention the fact that some flagship robot vacuums are over $1,500 now. Meaning, they aren’t selling that many.
Back in March, iRobot admitted that it could go under for good in the next 12 months, and that was 7 months ago. So it’s unlikely that iRobot will be around for all that much longer, unfortunately. iRobot is also seeing some pretty huge drops in revenue, year-over-year. With a huge 44% drop last quarter, versus the year before. And that’s revenue, not profit. Meaning that iRobot isn’t even bringing in the money needed to stay afloat.
What could happen to iRobot? Well, it’s likely that the company would be sold for parts. Amazon originally wanted iRobot for its robot technology, not necessarily for robot vacuums. That technology is going to be very important to some companies, especially with everyone working on humanoids these days. It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens over the next year.
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