"iRobot, the owner of the Roomba robot vacuum, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, stating that it will be acquired by its contract manufacturer, Picea Robotics. The Chinese-based company assumed iRobot's $190 million loan earlier this month and, under the terms of iRobot's restructuring, will waive that debt, along with the $161.5 million iRobot owes it for manufacturing its robots. In return, Picea will own iRobot in its entirety."
"So, who is Picea? Shenzhen Picea Robotics, also known as 3irobotix, is one of the largest original design manufacturers (ODM) of robot vacuums. The logos of iRobot, Shark, and Anker (which owns the Eufy vacuum brand) are listed on its parent site as partners. Rumors are rife on Reddit that the new Dyson Spot & Scrub Ai robot vacuum is manufactured by Picea. ( The Verge has reached out to both Dyson and Picea to confirm.)"
"In January 2024, following the collapse of its sale to Amazon, iRobot announced it was moving its non-core engineering efforts overseas and seeking to save on manufacturing costs. It hired Picea as its contract manufacturer and launched a new line of Roombas the following year."
iRobot filed for Chapter 11 and will be acquired by its contract manufacturer Picea Robotics, which assumed a $190 million loan and will waive that debt plus $161.5 million owed for manufacturing. Picea will become sole owner of iRobot under the restructuring. Shenzhen Picea Robotics (3irobotix) is a major original design manufacturer of robot vacuums that lists iRobot, Shark, and Anker as partners. Reddit users speculate that Dyson's new Spot & Scrub Ai robot vacuum is built by Picea. In January 2024, after a collapsed Amazon sale, iRobot moved non-core engineering overseas and hired Picea, then launched a new Roomba line.
Read at The Verge
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]