The hardware world had a brutal week, with iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes all filing for bankruptcy.

Each company faces its own mix of tariff pressures, supply chain issues, and shifting markets, but together they tell a larger story about the challenges of building physical products in an era of global trade tensions and cheap overseas competition. From the Roomba maker that almost got acquired by Amazon to the e-bike company that couldn’t escape its Chinese supply chain, this week’s bankruptcies are a warning sign for hardware startups everywhere.

Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Anthony Ha, Rebecca Bellan, and Sean O’Kane discuss what went wrong for three once-promising hardware companies, plus Amazon’s massive OpenAI bet and Trump’s new approach to AI regulation.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube,Apple Podcasts,Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity onX andThreads, at @EquityPod.

","freeContentEncoded","textContent","state","published","strategy","curl-ready","locked","deletedAt","isSyncedFromOwnBlog","original","duplicatesCount","duplicateVersion","originalArticleId","errorsCount","appearance","story:full-width","color","backgroundColor","#a2c5b9","shortSummary","Hardware startups face tough times as iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes file for bankruptcy, signaling broader industry challenges.","summary","The hardware industry experienced a difficult week with iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes filing for bankruptcy. These companies grappled with tariff pressures, supply chain disruptions, and evolving market dynamics, highlighting the complexities of hardware production amid global trade tensions and overseas competition. The bankruptcies serve as a cautionary tale for emerging hardware ventures.","bullets",[159,160,161,162],"iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes filed for bankruptcy.","Companies faced challenges including tariff pressures, supply chain issues, and shifting markets.","These bankruptcies indicate broader difficulties in building physical products due to global trade tensions and overseas competition.","The situation is a warning for hardware startups.","persons",[165,166,167],"Anthony Ha","Rebecca Bellan","Sean O’Kane","places",[],"words",148,"sentiment",-3.5,"Human","subject","tech","meta",{"_179":180,"_181":182,"_210":191},"type","bee:get-index-of-articles","schedule",{"_14":183,"_36":-5,"_184":185,"_62":-5,"_186":187,"_188":189,"_190":191,"_192":68,"_65":66,"_175":27,"_193":-5,"_194":66,"_138":139,"_195":196,"_39":196,"_197":198,"_199":68,"_200":201,"_41":196,"_202":66,"_64":174,"_203":204,"_205":-5,"_206":207,"_208":-5,"_209":-5},"6730bc49-70a5-4fe7-88a2-0c9cc7a575b0","npub","npub1y2sh85zz4ngtwkj9hqrc0lshw8wtu9cu3y6vkdp677epnpj4jh2s2ep9xl","jobId","9f7f8919-5176-42cd-b6a0-61f5e6cf24e0","order",1,"rssUrl","https://techcrunch.com/category/artificial-intelligence/","system","userRef","autosign","syncedAt","2025-12-03T12:32:19.596Z","frequency","hourly","isOwnBlog","nextRunAt","2025-12-19T21:08:49.638Z","autopublish","sourceVariant","rss","systemVariant","scheduleVariant","scraping-bee-classic-proxy","retryArticlesIds","ownershipConfirmedAt","dataSourceUrl",[],"eventId","93f236c3c937812ffebe4c9b65a3475d04b7065ea8c7efeaf19f9660ae35c479","nostrRootEvent","event",{"_14":213,"_217":218,"_219":189,"_62":220,"_233":232,"_130":234,"_235":236},"sig","317590d07c35ec17a05debe1cd79a910c62d11c137331fc7a7c6c4676550e0a9d8a9cb18eae489353acb8c8979d04b0fd8c93bed033e7fb0a938f66266af28e7","kind",[221,222,223,227,230],[175,118],[30,123],[224,225,25,226],"a","30023:22a173d042acd0b75a45b80787fe1771dcbe171c8934cb343af7b219865595d5:75fd75f4-9bf0-4bd6-b4bf-1bc7ab248d34","mention",[228,229],"client","Layer3.press",[231,232,25],"p","22a173d042acd0b75a45b80787fe1771dcbe171c8934cb343af7b219865595d5","pubkey","From Roombas to e-bikes, why are hardware startups going bankrupt?\nWatch as Equity discusses what went wrong for iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes, plus Amazon's massive OpenAI bet and Trump's new approach to AI regulation.\n\n\nnostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzqg4pw0gy9txskadytwq8sllpwuwuhct3ezf5ev6r4aajrxr9t9w4qqjrwdtxvsmn2e3595ukye3s956xyepk943rgcnx95ckycehv93rydpcvsengt37t60 ","created_at",1766178590,"authorNPub","markdown","The hardware world had a brutal week, with [iRobot](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/14/how-irobot-lost-its-way-home/ \"iRobot\"), [Luminar](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/15/lidar-maker-luminar-files-for-bankruptcy/ \"Luminar\"), and [Rad Power Bikes](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/rad-power-bikes-files-for-bankruptcy-and-is-looking-to-sell-the-business/ \"Rad Power Bikes\") all filing for bankruptcy.\n\nEach company faces its own mix of tariff pressures, supply chain issues, and shifting markets, but together they tell a larger story about the challenges of building physical products in an era of global trade tensions and cheap overseas competition. From the Roomba maker that almost got [acquired](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/14/how-irobot-lost-its-way-home/ \"acquired\") by Amazon to the e-bike company that [couldn’t](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/rad-power-bikes-files-for-bankruptcy-and-is-looking-to-sell-the-business/ \"couldn’t\") escape its Chinese supply chain, this week’s bankruptcies are a warning sign for hardware startups everywhere.\n\nToday on TechCrunch’s [Equity](https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/ \"Equity\") podcast, hosts Anthony Ha, Rebecca Bellan, and Sean O’Kane discuss what went wrong for three once-promising hardware companies, plus [Amazon’s massive OpenAI bet](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/amazon-reportedly-in-talks-to-invest-10b-in-openai-as-circular-deals-stay-popular/ \"Amazon’s massive OpenAI bet\") and [Trump’s new approach](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/12/trumps-ai-executive-order-promises-one-rulebook-startups-may-get-legal-limbo-instead/ \"Trump’s new approach\") to AI regulation.\n\nSubscribe to Equity on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@TechCrunch \"YouTube\"),[Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780 \"Apple Podcasts\"),[Overcast](https://overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity \"Overcast\"), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ \"Spotify\") and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on[X](https://twitter.com/EquityPod \"X\") and[Threads](https://www.threads.net/@equitypod \"Threads\"), at @EquityPod.","freeMarkdown","kind1EventId","kind30023EventId","cf267b65c598d3ebfd6bc94dc2b5356cab94cb3dfa4107325f1f23642ad0c84a","kind30023",{"_14":243,"_217":246,"_219":247,"_62":248,"_233":232,"_130":262,"_235":236},"49f8b5325c273edd61efbbb37c3b3de5d062c7b17d0c98a568922b8d4147eac278a32ed4a9317484ac6f7d1e3d92f1a830c0e2834eb01ea99b49b27931c8f619",30023,[249,252,253,256,257,259,260,261],[250,251],"r","https://ai.layer3.press/articles/75fd75f4-9bf0-4bd6-b4bf-1bc7ab248d34",[26,118],[254,255],"published_at","1766149200",[30,123],[258,113],"d",[155,119],[228,229],[231,232,25],"From Roombas to e-bikes, why are hardware startups going bankrupt?\nThe hardware industry experienced a difficult week with iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes filing for bankruptcy. These companies grappled with tariff pressures, supply chain disruptions, and evolving market dynamics, highlighting the complexities of hardware production amid global trade tensions and overseas competition. The bankruptcies serve as a cautionary tale for emerging hardware ventures.\n - iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes filed for bankruptcy.\n - Companies faced challenges including tariff pressures, supply chain issues, and shifting markets.\n - These bankruptcies indicate broader difficulties in building physical products due to global trade tensions and overseas competition.\n - The situation is a warning for hardware startups.\n","publishedToNostr","htmlContentKind30023","

The hardware world had a brutal week, with iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes all filing for bankruptcy.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube,Apple Podcasts,Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity onX andThreads, at @EquityPod.

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