It was once hailed as a robot vacuum cleaner. The industry's "pioneer" is now on the verge of bankruptcy; it was once acquired by global internet giant Amazon. They had their eye on the company and intended to acquire it, but now they've fallen into a predicament of insolvency.
On December 1st, local time in the United States, iRobot, a globally renowned robotic vacuum cleaner company, announced its listing on the U.S. Stock Exchange . According to the official website of the Transaction Commission, on November 24, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shenzhen Shanchuan Robotics Co. , Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shenzhen Shanchuan"), a contract manufacturer of iRobot, acquired US$190.7 million worth of US dollar bonds. Shenzhen Shanchuan also owes iRobot US$161.5 million in product manufacturing fees (of which US$90.9 million is overdue), totaling approximately RMB 2.5 billion. In other words, Shenzhen Shanchuan has become a major creditor of iRobot, while iRobot's total cash and cash equivalents amount to only US$24.8 million.
Once a globally renowned company, iRobot's fate is now firmly in the hands of a low-profile Chinese manufacturer.
iRobot stated that it increasingly relies on third-party contract manufacturers (CMCs) to produce its products. These CMCs are responsible for managing the supply chain of all raw materials and provide all the facilities and labor required for product manufacturing. Currently, the company primarily relies on its sole CMC, located in China and Vietnam, Shenzhen Shanchuan, for production. The two parties extended their cooperation agreement in July 2025 to August 17, 2027.
The document also states that, according to the agreement between the company and Shenzhen Shanchuan, outstanding payments may be considered a material breach of the agreement, and the other party has the right to terminate the agreement. As of December 1, the date of the document, Shenzhen Shanchuan has not issued a written notice of breach of contract in accordance with the agreement, and both parties are actively negotiating, hoping to reach a mutually acceptable solution regarding the company's outstanding payments.
Publicly available information shows that iRobot launched its first robotic vacuum cleaner in 2002 and is considered the pioneer of robotic vacuum cleaners. It has sold millions of robotic vacuum cleaners globally, once holding a market share exceeding 80%. However, its glory days are over. It began experiencing operating losses in 2021, and these losses widened in 2022. Its 2025 financial report shows that iRobot's revenue for the first three quarters was $375 million, a year-on-year decrease of 26.47%, with a loss of $17.7 million.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Shenzhen, Shenzhen Shanchuan is a Guangdong Province Manufacturing Single Champion and a National Specialized, Refined and Innovative Enterprise. A "Little Giant" enterprise. Public reports indicate that 3 out of every 10 high-end robotic vacuum cleaners in the global market come from Shenzhen Shanchuan. Shenzhen Shanchuan officially states that it is based in the global market and its partner brands include iRobot, Xiaomi, Haier, and Philips. Well-known brands such as Shenzhen Shanchuan will remain the number one in the field of robotic vacuum cleaner solutions by 2025, with an annual production capacity of over 8.5 million robotic vacuum cleaners and a cumulative delivery of over 20 million units.
According to the *Daily Economic News*, You Danni, a senior expert in the cleaning appliance industry, stated that iRobot's fall from grace was primarily due to the rapid development of the cleaning appliance industry in recent years, while iRobot failed to keep pace, especially during the pandemic, when it was essentially out of sync with the domestic industry. During this period, a large influx of capital into the cleaning appliance industry led to companies like Ecovacs... Chinese cleaning appliance companies such as Dreame and Roborock have experienced rapid growth, driving the rapid upgrading and iteration of robotic vacuum cleaners. After the pandemic, the industry has shown rapid development. In contrast, iRobot is relatively lagging behind in terms of both technology and products.
According to a report released by IDC Consulting in the second quarter of this year, iRobot's global market share has fallen to 7.9%.
Some analysts believe that Shenzhen Sugawa's main business is currently OEM manufacturing, and the valuation of OEM business is not very high in the market. As a globally renowned brand, iRobot may be of interest to Shenzhen Sugawa in terms of its brand and patent value. Other industry insiders believe that Shenzhen Sugawa may hope to gain greater bargaining power in potential restructuring or asset sales by leveraging its status as a creditor.
(Source: China Business Journal)
