iRobot, the company behind the iconic Roomba vacuum, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — and now a political firestorm has followed.<br /><br />In this video, we break down how a blocked $1.7 billion Amazon acquisition in 2022 became central to today’s controversy, as critics point fingers at Senator Elizabeth Warren years after she opposed the deal on antitrust grounds.<br /><br />Here’s what happened:<br /><br />Why Amazon’s proposed purchase of iRobot was blocked by regulators and lawmakers<br /><br />How overseas competition, tariffs, debt, and rising costs pressured iRobot’s finances<br /><br />Why the company now plans to sell its assets to a China-based robotics supplier<br /><br />How social media backlash, Community Notes, and investor criticism reignited the debate<br /><br />Why some are questioning whether blocking the deal actually hurt U.S. jobs and competition<br /><br />We also look at parallels to other blocked mergers, including JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, and the broader question investors are now asking:<br /><br />Did antitrust intervention protect consumers — or accelerate the collapse of American companies?<br /><br />This story sits at the intersection of markets, regulation, geopolitics, and corporate survival, and it raises uncomfortable questions about unintended consequences.
