iRobot, the pioneering American maker of the Roomba, once the leader in robot vacuums, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court on Dec 14, and control of the company will be taken over by its Chinese supplier 
Picea Robotics Co (杉川; formerly known as Shenzhen 3irobotix Co Ltd)
iRobot expected to complete the process by February. The company’s common stock will be wiped out and the new private entity will be controlled by Picea.
iRobot said it expected to continue operating, meet its commitments to employees and make payments to vendors and other creditors during the bankruptcy process.
When iRobot introduced the Roomba in 2002, it promised to usher in an era where robots were a useful part of every day life. Decades later, the company’s challenges have become representative of how far away that future remains.
The company’s revenue declined in the face of scrutiny from regulators, data privacy issues and competition from rivals including Shenzhen Picea Robotics, iRobot’s new owner.
Picea makes household appliances and parts for companies like Xiaomi, Haier and Electrolux and also sells its own room-cleaning robot under the brand 3i. The company was founded in 2016 by a group of engineers in a program for fledgling start-ups funded by the Shenzhen government.
In 2022, Amazon said it would acquire iRobot and all of its debt for about $1.7 billion. But the deal fell apart under scrutiny from regulators in the US and Europe who said it could undercut competition.
In Jan 2024, iRobot said Amazon would pay it $94 million as the deal collapsed. The same day, iRobot said that it would lay off 350 people, about a third of its work force. Since then, the company’s stock price plummeted as iRobot repeatedly warned investors about “substantial doubt” over its future.
According to documents filed in bankruptcy court, iRobot owes almost $100 million to Picea, $2.7 million to BYD and $3.4 million to US Customs and Border Protection in unpaid tariffs.
One of its creditors is Zheng Yu Industrial, a Hong Kong company that makes brushes, mops and dust bags for iRobot at factories in the southern Chinese city of Huizhou. Zhengzhong Hu, a spokesman for Zheng Yu Industrial, said on Monday that no one from iRobot or Picea had contacted the company about repayment of the debt, which iRobot listed as $1 million.
nytimes.com/2025/12/15/bus
reuters.com/technology/iro
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Byron Wan
@Byron_Wan
Santrum Hong Kong Co, a subsidiary of Shenzhen-based Picea Robotics Co (杉川; formerly known as Shenzhen 3irobotix Co Ltd), has acquired a credit agreement with iRobot from affiliates of The Carlyle Group worth US$190.6M in principal and interest.
As of Nov 24, 2025,
Show more Picea Robotics Co (杉川; formerly known as Shenzhen 3irobotix Co Ltd), has acquired a credit agreement with iRobot from affiliates of The Carlyle Group worth US$190.6M in principal and interest.
As of Nov 24, 2025,