Neato Robotics, the company behind the Neato brand and its distinctively “D”-shaped robot vacuums, is closing up shop.
A spokesperson for Germany’s Vorwerk Group, which acquired Neato back in 2017, told TechHive via e-mail that Neato is “now being closed down despite lots of restructuring efforts,” and that the company had “not achieved its self-defined economic goals for several years now.”
The closure will “affect” 98 employees, Vorwerk spokesperson Stefan Watzinger said.
As it shuts down Neato, Vorwerk will also “take over” a 14-person team in Milan to “ensure the security of the infrastructure of Neato’s cloud services for at least five years,” while spare parts and repair service will also be “guaranteed for at least five years,” according to Watzinger.
Neato, which was founded in 2005 and cranked out a number of well regarded robot vacuums, had been known for its D-shaped robots, a design that makes it easier for the vacs to clean the corners and edges of rooms.
Neato’s vacuums were also among the first to incorporate LiDAR technology to map rooms.
The Vorwerk Group acquired Neato in 2017, but the robot vacuum maker continued to operate independently, according to VentureBeat.
Users on the Neato Robotics subreddit began to suspect something was up when the URL for the company’s customer login page began throwing 503 errors. We’re following up with Vorwerk spokesperson Watzinger to find out when (or if) the page will be fixed.
Later, they noticed that Neato’s Twitter feed had been deleted and its Facebook page disabled. Neato’s Instagram and YouTube accounts are still up and running.
Neato users also complained of hearing nothing but “crickets” for Neato’s support staff.
We reviewed a handful of Neato vacuums over the years, including the Neato Botvac D7 Connected from 2018, and the Neato D10 from last year.
We praised the Neato D7 for its “excellent navigation” and “deep cleaning,” adding: “If the Neato Botvac D7 is an indication of where robot vacuum technology is heading, the future of housework looks bright.”
We also liked the Neato D10, a LIDAR-enabled robovac that offers HEPA filtration, although we called its $599 price tag “a bit high for its capabilities.”
