Already it was seen coming for a long time: iRobot is sinking and bankruptcy is knocking on the door. The one that pioneered robot vacuum cleaners has been going through difficulties for years and their current situation is critical: they have admitted that they barely have cash to operate and there are no more ways to earn income. It looks very bad.
what has happened. iRobot has published the third quarter results of the year and paint a very gloomy scenario. Revenue was $145.8 million, down 33% in the United States, 13% in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and 9% in Japan compared to the same period last year. The serious thing, according to its CEO, is that due to “market difficulties, production delays and unforeseen interruptions in shipments” the use of cash increased and right now they only have 24.8 million dollars and no additional source of income in sight.
Why is it important. iRobot was the one who started the robot vacuum cleaner market in 2002 with the first Roomba model. In 2016 They were market leaders. with a share of 64%, but the emergence of more competitors meant that the pie began to be shared more and more, reducing its portion. iRobot reached its peak valuation in 2021 and from there it was downhill and without brakes.
In 2022 Amazon threw her a lifeline and tried to buy herbut regulatory problems in the European Union they caused the agreement to end up being diluted. Its fall is not only important because it was the company that inaugurated the sector, which made us call robot vacuum cleaners ‘Roomba’, it is also confirmation that Chinese companies have conquered the sector.
Possible bankruptcy. In a document addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission Last October, the company warned of its critical situation and opened the door to bankruptcy as soon as December 1st. The reason is that it has a credit agreement with The Carlyle Group and has two key requirements: to demonstrate that the company can continue to operate and to maintain a minimum of core assets, something they cannot currently meet. The problem is that they have already received two extensions and the deadline is December 1. They need another extension or sell the company, but they have no buyer.
What’s wrong with my Roomba. In statements to The VergeiRobot says the company continues its daily operations, including support for its products. However, if the company closes and the cloud stops working, it will mean that the Roombas will lose their online connectivity. That is, they cannot be controlled from the mobile phone with the app, but they will continue to work using the buttons.
It’s already happened. Even if iRobot goes bankrupt, its cloud services may continue for a while, the question is for how long. This is what has happened with Neato vacuum cleaners. The company closed in 2023 and their cloud continued to function, until a couple of weeks ago when they announced that they turned it off permanently. Neato vacuum cleaners only work in manual mode and it is no longer possible to use the app to control the robot or create cleaning routines.
Image | Xataka
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