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 b …