Roomba maker iRobot filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday evening and announced its main manufacturing partner and lender, China-based Picea Robotics, will acquire it, NPR reports.
The Roomba will continue to work, albeit without an app or cloud connectivity, if Picea decides not to support it any further.
iRobot’s value spiraled from $3.56 billion in 2021 to about $140 million today, according to the London Stock Exchange Group.
The death of the robot came from a 46% tariff imposed by the U.S. on Vietnamese goods, the country where Picea builds most Roombas. It cost iRobot about $23 million.
Picea will take control of iRobot and cancel $190 million in debt that it bought from iRobot’s original lender last month.
