Last year, Springboard highlighted how regulators’ hard line against the Amazon-iRobot merger would make it harder for a U.S. robotics pioneer to compete and invest. Now, iRobot has announced that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is preparing to be acquired by its Chinese manufacturer and lender, Picea. 

iRobot’s demise is a case study in how overly restrictive M&A enforcement that ignores the economic benefits to consumers can irreparably damage American competitiveness and innovation. 

How We Got Here: The Misguided Denial of the Amazon-iRobot Merger

On August 5, 2022, Amazon announced plans to acquire iRobot, the U.S. robotics company best known for the Roomba robot vacuum, for about $1.7 billion. The acquisition was structured as a strategic, pro-competitive partnership intended to help iRobot scale and stay competitive globally.

From the outset, some notable regulators, policymakers, and advocacy groups leveled unsubstantiated attacks on the proposed merger. 

— Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) called on the FTC to block the deal saying “I have serious concerns about the Amazon-iRobot deal – dominant companies like Amazon shouldn’t be allowed to just buy their way out of competing.”

— The Institute for Local Self Reliance called it the “most dangerous, threatening acquisition” Amazon had ever attempted.

— The American Economic Liberties Project said “Amazon is seeking to acquire its way to dominance in the Smart Home market and add yet another intrusive way to surveil their customers.”

The deal was ultimately terminated in early 2024 following the European Commission’s (EC) announcement of its intention to block the deal. The FTC signaled its support for the EC’s decision, saying that “We are pleased that Amazon and iRobot have abandoned their proposed transaction.”

On the same day the deal termination was announced, iRobot said it was firing approximately 31% of its workforce. 

— David Zapolsky, Amazon SVP and General Counsel, stated that “this outcome will deny consumers faster innovation and more competitive prices.”

— Amazon CEO Andy Jassy further argued that stopping the iRobot deal undermined U.S. competitiveness and that regulators “trust [the] two large Chinese companies with maps of the inside of U.S. consumers’ homes more than they do Amazon.”

And Now, an American Innovator Has Filed for Bankruptcy and Been Acquired by a Chinese Company

iRobot never fully recovered from the terminated deal, and its problems have unfortunately continued.

— On December 14, 2025, iRobot announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is being acquired by Pica, a Chinese robotics manufacturer and lender. A once-leading American technology pioneer is now fully Chinese-owned. This outcome was avoidable.

This Leads to the Most Predictable Outcome: Chinese Companies Now Dominate the Global Market

China already controls 70% of the global market for smart vacuums, led by companies like Roborock, Ecovacs Robotics, and Dreame Technology, and that figure will likely rise now that iRobot has failed. Blocking the Amazon merger created a vacuum that adversaries are now filling at speed—as predicted all along.

— As explained recently in Project DisCo, “at a time when U.S. firms face increased pressure from Chinese rivals, overly aggressive antitrust enforcement can harm competition, hinder innovation, and cost American jobs.” It also highlighted that the original merger “would have aided iRobot’s efforts to compete against Chinese rivals.”

— NetChoice similarly wrote that iRobot “was fighting for survival against a flood of cheaper models from rapidly expanding Chinese rivals like Ecovacs and Roborock. Turns out the Amazon acquisition was iRobot’s only viable path to gain the scale and resources needed to compete.”

— Financial YouTuber and podcaster Joseph Carlson also noted that the block of the merger was “another example of our own government destroying our own companies for the benefit of foreign competitors.”

According to Fortune, Roborock, a leading Chinese robotics company has, “…quickly surged to take over the home robot vacuum market once dominated by iRobot and Roomba.” The founder of Roborock also noted that, “A company like iRobot might take two years to bring a product to market, but Roborock can do it in six months.”

This is another case of how regulators are punishing American companies domestically and in turn, are diminishing American competitiveness abroad.

The sad story of iRobot’s bankruptcy and its ownership change is yet another example of how ideological M&A enforcement that overlooks consumer welfare is handicapping innovative American companies and damaging American competitiveness globally.