The news that has been recently circulating in my newsfeed? iRobot — the company behind Roomba vacuums since 2002 — has filed for bankruptcy. Which could be bad news for me, because I use my trusty Roomba 505 every single day. As a parent (pet and human), it saves my life as it cleans the entire downstairs of my home every evening. Vacuums and mops, that is.
You're probably asking, "Does this mean I won't be able to use my robot vacuum anymore?" Well, I'm wondering the same! If you own any product from iRobot, whether that's a brand new model or a 10-year-old but gold vacuum, here's what you need to know.
Ignore the sales: now is not the time to buy
The company iRobot officially filed for bankruptcy on December 14 2025. The next day, on December 15, they announced in a press release the plans for the business and what this means for current and future customers.
I'd recommend holding fire if you are planning on investing in one of these over the next few months; instead, check out our guide on the best tried and tested robot vacuums for other suggestions. It's best to hold fire until we know more about Roomba's plans, as we're still in the very early days.
The future of iRobot
iRobot has officially been purchased by Picea. This means that iRobot will be a private company, meaning its shares will no longer be listed on any national stock exchange. This will affect shareholders, but for common customers, this won't prove to be a huge issue.
"Today's announcement marks a pivotal milestone in securing iRobot's long-term future,"
Gary Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, iRobot
Who is Picea? Currently, this company — based in China and Vietnam — manufactures robot vacuum cleaners. To date, they've sold over 20 million robotic vacuums, so it's safe to say they know a thing or two.
Will my Roomba product still work?
The short answer is yes. There are currently no plans to prevent Roomba vacuums from working. In the press release, it claims that there are no plans to disrupt its app functionality, for those vacuums you need a smartphone to control, and that its product support systems won't be impacted, too.
This is great news for anyone who has recently purchased, like me, as I was having worries about its app, too.
In fact, mine required an update just yesterday, which is a move in the right direction and tells me that they are doing the work to improve their products.
What about spare parts?
There's currently no information on what will happen with older Roomba models of vacuums, and whether spare parts will still be available to buy on site. As I just said, I do expect there to be a new wave of iRobot vacuum cleaners to be released, so I would actually suggest buying some spare parts for yours now, ahead of these releases, incase the company decides to stop selling spare parts for older models to push their new products.
I'll be doing the same and buying new brushes, dust bin bags and more for mine, as I hope to get several years' use out of it. If they do happen to stop selling spare parts, mine will be deemed unusable without extra accessories. You can buy spare parts direct through iRobot, or via the iRobot Amazon storefront, which is my preferred way.
Will I still be able to purchase an iRobot vacuum?
iRobot is joining with Picea, and claims that together, their new strategy is to merge these brands and their technologies. "By combining iRobot's innovation, consumer-driven design, and R&D with Picea's history of innovation, manufacturing, and technical expertise, we believe iRobot will be well equipped to shape the next era of smart home robotics," claims Cohen.
This statement leads me to think that there will be more releases of updated iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaners, hopefully sometime in 2026.
Why did iRobot have to file for bankruptcy?
Simply enough, in its third quarter of 2025, this brand fell way below its target and had no extra funds to make up for the downfall. In the US alone, its revenue has dropped a whopping 33% from June to September, while the company noted that its higher-priced robots were not selling as much as they had expected. This leads me to think that shoppers were instead choosing cheaper alternatives from brands other than iRobot.
Perhaps, the main issue was that these robots became increasingly expensive in a crowded market. With cheaper competitors on the market, most people can get away with a budget of no more than $500, and on the iRobot site right now, you can buy a robot vacuum for as much as $1,299.
Information from iRobot's Third-Quarter 2025 Press Release, and iRobot's Long Term Growth Plan Press Release.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
