In many meaningful ways, the robot vacuum has been a true success story. This category is widely considered the first major home robot—and 21 years after the first Roomba robot went on sale, it’s still a self-contained device. She did one job, and it did pretty much well. It was repeatable, the system was affordable and the technology continued to improve while the core product remained the same.
Founded in 2005 by three Stanford graduates, Neato Robotics has been along for most of that journey. The Bay Area company grew quickly, becoming one of iRobot’s primary competitors years before every consumer electronics company made a dent in the space. During that time, Neato has attracted its unique fan base by introducing new innovations, such as its introduction of Wi-Fi calling in 2011.
Five years ago in September of this year, Vorwerk bought Neato. The two had partnered years earlier, bringing the robot vacuum to the appliance company’s native Germany. Vorwerk promises to keep the brand largely independent. However, late last week, parent company Neato confirmed that it was shutting down the brand, citing poor performance.
The closure isn’t for lack of trying, Vorwerk says, telling TechHive that Neato is “now closing despite a lot of restructuring efforts,” because it “didn’t meet its self-determined economic goals several years ago.” Roughly 100 Neato employees have been affected by the move, while a much smaller team in Milan will remain on board to support those systems already in the world.
Vorwerk says the move is part of a restructuring strategy for 2025, which will find it continues to focus on vacuum cleaners and other robots in its German offices. Company Notes (operated through Google Translate):
The Vorwerk merger also affects the stake in the US company Neato Robotics, which has been 100% owned by the Vorwerk Group since 2017. Neato has brought valuable experience and innovation to Vorwerk’s product development in the field of cleaning robots over the past few years. However, Neato’s standalone sales in e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retail with a focus on the USA have not been able to develop successfully, so the company has not achieved the economic goals it has set for itself for several years.
Vorwerk says its team will continue to support existing Neato products for the next five years.