It’s been a tough week in the hardware world, with iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes filing for bankruptcy.
Each company faces a unique combination of tariff pressures, supply chain issues, and market shifts, but together they tell a larger story about the challenges of building physical products in an era of global trade tensions and cheap foreign competition. This week’s bankruptcies are a warning sign for every hardware startup, from the Roomba maker that was nearly acquired by Amazon to the e-bike company that couldn’t escape its Chinese supply chain.
Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Anthony Ha, Rebecca Bellan, and Sean O’Kane discuss what went wrong at three once-promising hardware companies, as well as Amazon’s big bet on OpenAI and President Trump’s new approach to AI regulation.
Listen to the full episode and hear more of the week’s news like this:
How “slop” became Merriam-Webster’s word of the year and why it’s more than just AI-generated content
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and all casts. You can also follow Equity on X and Threads at @EquityPod.
