iRobot Corp., known for its robotic floor cleaning appliances, has moved into home air purification with the acquisition of Aeris Cleantec AG, a Swiss maker of premium air purifiers.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2015 in Cham, Zug Switzerland, Aeris Cleantec designs and sells a range of high-quality, high-performance air purifiers using HEPA filtration designed to quietly remove a wide range of pollutants, including allergens, smoke, odors and pet dander. With the Aeris mobile app, users can activate their air purifiers, control the fan speed, compare indoor and outdoor air quality, and increasingly leverage other intelligent technologies to train the device to operate according to their individual needs.
iRobot and Aeris noted a global residential air purifier market expected to expand from $3.4 billion in 2020 to more $6.7 billion in 2027, according to Grand View Research.
iRobot said it plans to accelerate consumer adoption of the Aeris air purifiers by leveraging its marketing capabilities, global retail and distributor network and installed base of connected customers around the world. iRobot plans to integrate Aeris products into them with its existing “ecosystem” of connected home robots, including Roomba vacuum robots Braava mopping robots.
iRobot added its plans to will leverage its Genius Home Intelligence platform to offer consumers more personalized and intuitive ways to clean the air in their homes, maintain their floors and create a healthier environment.
“Today’s acquisition of Aeris is an important step in iRobot’s strategy to expand our total addressable market and diversify our product portfolio in ways that will provide consumers with new ways to keep their homes cleaner and healthier,” said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot. “We are enthusiastic about the growth potential for Aeris’ products, especially as the pandemic has raised greater consumer awareness of the value of maintaining a cleaner, healthier home.”
Aeris’ founders Pierre Bi, CEO, and Constantin Overlack, COO, will join iRobot and lead air purification product operations, including engineering, product management and design. Aeris currently employs more than 30 people, all of whom are expected to join iRobot.
“With air quality negatively impacting people’s lives worldwide, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic forcing them to pay more attention to the air they breathe at home, consumers are increasingly looking for new ways to stay healthier indoors,” said Pierre Bi, CEO of Aeris. “We are excited to be joining with iRobot to offer smarter, more effective air purification products to consumers worldwide.”
iRobot reported it anticipates the Aeris business will be modestly dilutive to iRobot’s full-year 2022 earnings. The company expects accelerated revenue growth during the second half of 2022 to improve operating profitability, and the Aeris transaction will be accretive to the company’s full-year 2023 earnings.
