(NewsNation) — iRobot, the maker of Roomba robotic vacuums, is considering bankruptcy, according to a report recently filed with the SEC.
iRobot CEO Gary Cohen last week cited “market headwinds, ongoing production delays, and unforeseen shipping disruptions” as ongoing difficulties.
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Founded in 1990 by a trio of Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists, including Angle, iRobot’s early ventures led to rovers that could perform military and disaster-relief tasks in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The profits from defense contracts allowed iRobot to experiment with a variety of other robots, producing some duds and one huge commercial success: the first Roomba, introduced in 2002, which pioneered the market for automated vacuum cleaners.
The company spun off its defense robotics division in 2016 to become almost exclusively a seller of vacuums and some other home robots, such as the Braava robotic mop. It planned to launch a robotic lawn mower in 2020 but backed off, citing problems tied to the pandemic.
