iRobot
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Head office | Bedford, Massachusetts |
| Press material | Press images released for editorial use "The materials included on these pages are provided for media use only." |
| Website | irobot.com |
Who they are
iRobot is a consumer robot company in Bedford, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was founded in 1990 by robot researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The company says it sold the first Roomba robot vacuum in 2002.
In December 2025 iRobot filed for a planned Chapter 11 restructuring in the United States. In January 2026 it said the process closed and that Shenzhen Picea Robotics owns all of its shares. Picea was already its main contract manufacturer and its secured lender.
iRobot is now private and no longer traded on the stock market. It says it keeps its Bedford head office and its United States engineering and product teams. It also set up a separate American company, iRobot Safe, to look after United States customer data.
What they build
The core product is the Roomba: a round robot that drives itself around a home and vacuums. Many models also mop, using pads or a spinning roller. Most come with a dock that empties the dust bin or washes and dries the mop pad.
Current robots use laser scanning (called lidar) to map rooms and a camera to spot objects such as cables, shoes and pet mess. Owners set rooms, schedules and no-go areas in the Roomba Home phone app. The range runs from cheap entry models to the Roomba Max 875 Combo, listed by iRobot at 1,199 US dollars.
iRobot has also moved outside robots. The Roomba Electro Plus, listed at 399.99 US dollars, is a hand-pushed hard floor cleaner, not a robot. The company has in the past sold the Root coding robot for schools; we could not confirm from iRobot’s own shop whether it is still on sale.
At the IFA trade fair in Berlin in September 2026 iRobot showed the Roomba Duo. It is a large robot that carries and drops a slim second robot into tight spaces. iRobot called it a prototype and gave no price or sale date.
What they are known for
The Roomba made robot vacuums a normal household product. iRobot says it ranks first in total robot vacuum sales worldwide; that is the company’s own claim. It also says it has sold millions of robots.
Two events shaped the company. Amazon agreed to buy iRobot in 2022, and both sides ended the deal in January 2024 after European competition scrutiny. Independent coverage, including Wikipedia and The Robot Report, notes that iRobot sold its military and police robot business in 2016, so it no longer builds those machines.
How they sell
iRobot sells straight to shoppers through its own website and through shops and online retailers. New models usually appear on irobot.com first, then in North American stores. Some models launch in Europe and the United Kingdom on their own timetable; the small Roomba Mini started there in March 2026.
Anyone can buy, with no application or dealer process. Prices quoted here are the manufacturer’s suggested prices in United States dollars, and shop prices often differ. iRobot does not publish one global price list, so costs outside the United States are not known from its own pages.
Sources
- iRobot MediaKit – iRobot Press Center
- iRobot Completes Court-Supervised Transaction with Picea (23 January 2026)
- iRobot Announces Strategic Transaction to Drive Long-Term Growth Plan (14 December 2025, SEC Form 8-K exhibit)
- iRobot Redefines Floor Care with a 5-in-1 Disinfecting Hard Floor Cleaner and New Roomba Robots (7 July 2026)
- iRobot Introduces the Roomba Max 875 Combo (2 September 2026)
- iRobot Unveils Roomba Duo at IFA 2026 (4 September 2026)
- iRobot Launches Roomba Mini in UK and Europe (10 March 2026)
- iRobot shop: robot vacuums
- iRobot press releases archive
- iRobot emerges from Chapter 11 as restructured Picea U.S. subsidiary – The Robot Report
- iRobot – Wikipedia
What changed
- Entry created.