The world's number 1 robot vacuum cleaner company is about to go bankrupt.

From the pioneer of the robot vacuum era, iRobot is facing many financial difficulties and is facing the risk of bankruptcy in the near future.

Not many people want to buy Roomba vacuum robots anymore. Photo: Bloomberg .

Roomba is the world's first widely commercialized robot vacuum cleaner from iRobot (USA). However, due to lack of innovation and competition from cheap Chinese rivals, the product is witnessing a sharp decline in revenue and pushing the brand to the risk of bankruptcy.

iRobot had previously bet on being acquired by Amazon for $1.7 billion , but the deal fell through in January 2024 due to regulatory issues. Since then, the company has been looking for a buyer to help it through its financial woes.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 27, iRobot said that negotiations with potential investors ultimately failed. The buyer offered a price “significantly lower” than iRobot’s current market price, according to CNBC .

“We are not currently in advanced discussions with any other parties regarding the sale of our company or a strategic transaction,” iRobot wrote in a regulatory filing, sending its shares down 33%.

In July 2023, iRobot borrowed $200 million from Carlyle Group to maintain operations, considering it a temporary solution while waiting for the Amazon deal to close. In its latest filing, the company said it had extended the waiver on some financial obligations until December 1, which is also the sixth amendment to the credit agreement.

The filing warns that if creditors do not provide additional capital, or the company is unable to raise other financing in the near term, iRobot “may be forced to significantly curtail its operations or cease operations altogether, and may seek bankruptcy protection.”

For a long time, Roomba had almost no competitors. But in recent years, the robot vacuum market has grown strongly with brands such as Shark, Roborock. New high-end product lines integrate intelligent laser mapping, floor cleaning and self-cleaning functions.

Meanwhile, iRobot has struggled to keep up with these technological advances, according to Mashable. Roomba also often lags behind its competitors in real-world tests.

With revenue down 44% year-over-year in its March earnings report, iRobot warned it could go out of business within the next 12 months. The company hoped its lineup of high-quality products would revive sales, but so far, little has changed.

Source: https://znews.vn/hang-robot-hut-bui-so-1-the-gioi-sap-pha-san-post1597760.html