Evolving from a robotics company working in government contracts and toy contract work, iRobot eventually released a consumer product of their own, the Roomba, that would define not only their entire corporate future, but the industry that they essentially created. However, just 4 years after their all time peak in revenue and popularity, the company had declared bankruptcy. Join me in this video as we find out what happened to iRobot and their flagship product line, the Roomba robot vacuum. Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/BrightSunFilms Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightsunfilms Twitter/X - https://twitter.com/BrightSunFilms Travel Channel - @BrightSunTravels -------------- Bright Sun Films 2026 Presented in 4K
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If you invent something, but never really improve it, and others come out with better products, you lose. It's that simple.
I can’t believe this is how I find out iRobot went bankrupt.
It always feels weird watching companies I remember seeing everywhere a few years ago fall from grace in real time
In 20 years someone is going to find a rare first generation roomba on a yard sale and make an hour long youtube documentary about it that gets 14 million views
One of the rare stories on this channel where the 2008 recession wasn't the downfall, lol.
When I was a kid, a family friend worked for them and they used to bring me prototypes of the stuff they were working on. I got to test out different Roomba and Scooba models, and even the one discontinued one that cleans gutters. It was so cool to tinker around with the tech, definitely a core memory.
I honestly didnt even realize they went bankrupt
I think part of the issue might be that 'roomba' became a generalized term, like 'band aid' and 'kleenex', where people didnt associate the brand with the item name, and the item name became just "what that type of thing is called"
That's the biggest thing - they never got around to putting LiDAR in their robots. That means the robot can only clean during the day, or you have to keep the lights on.
I call every robot vacuum a roomba, and now no one will even know what that is
I would love to see Bright Sun Films tackle the mother of all bankruptcies: Lehman Brothers. A post mortem analysis of the thing that kicked off the financial crisis would be captivating.
I didn’t even know they were sick.
You could say they were : Sucked up by the competition
I feel like the Roomba name will always be synonymous with robot cleaners though, like how Hoover is for vacuum cleaners
Another innovative company bites the dust... sad to see the people who basically popularized robot vacuums fell short ultimately with too much competition.
I just got a second hand one that’s programmed to someone else’s home, it’s sad and confused but it cleans really well!
I doomed iRobot when I bought their stock 25 years ago.
I was a ride or die Roomba user. I could not justify buying another one. When I realized they are at least three years behind everyone else. I got a Dreame and never looked back they are amazing.
Yeah, they absolutely slept on the competition which innovated and put out superior products while they just charged more for no real improvements
ok i must've been living under a rock as a child and i thought the Roomba was like. a 2010s thing. only to find that it shipped out the month i was born??? what???