The Chinese ODM makes robot vacuums for dozens of companies along with its own 3i line.
The Chinese ODM makes robot vacuums for dozens of companies along with its own 3i line.
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 brand) are listed on its parent site as partners. Rumors are rife on Reddit that the new Dyson Spot & Scrub Ai robot vacuum is manufactured by Picea. (The Verge has reached out to both Dyson and Picea to confirm.)
In January 2024, following the collapse of its sale to Amazon, iRobot announced it was moving its non-core engineering efforts overseas and seeking to save on manufacturing costs. It hired Picea as its contract manufacturer and launched a new line of Roombas the following year.
As I noted at the time, the Roombas that iRobot had staked its financial future on shared little to no DNA with the original Roombas. They looked like much of the mid-range competition — generic, Lidar-based robot vacs with the Roomba name and a few design tweaks plastered on. I’ve tested two of them, the 505 and the 205, and have been underwhelmed, running into significant issues with both models.
Picea, part of Picea Corp., has R&D and manufacturing facilities in China and Vietnam, and claims to have manufactured and sold more than 20 million robotic vacuum cleaners. Its subsidiary, Picea Motion, develops harmonic drives for all types of robotics. A couple of years ago, Picea launched its own line of robot vacuums under the 3i brand, including one with a dust-compacting system similar to the Roomba 205.
I’ve tested a couple of the 3i vacuums, including the flagship 3i S10 Ultra. It’s an impressive beast of a machine that features a unique water-recycling system, which uses a dehumidifier to keep its clean-water tank full. It also has a smart dirt-scanning tech that uses a green light to spot stains and will return to repeatedly scrub them, similar to Dyson’s latest bot.
While iRobot has stated it plans to continue operating as normal following its bankruptcy, Roomba’s future under Picea’s ownership is unclear. What is clear is that the domination of the robot vacuum space by Chinese-owned brands and manufacturers is only growing.
