Why the Roomba Maker iRobot Fell Apart. Plus, Our 2026 Tech Predictions. | EP 169

Quick Overview

iRobot, the maker of the Roomba, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after being outcompeted by Chinese manufacturers and suffering a fatal blow when the attempted $1.7 billion acquisition by Amazon was blocked by US and EU antitrust regulators, leading to its eventual ownership by Chinese creditor Pyia Robotics.

Key Points: iRobot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after being outcompeted by Chinese fast-following companies that benefited from a protected market and direct government subsidies in China. Former CEO Colin Angle argues iRobot's bankruptcy resulted directly from misguided antitrust enforcement, specifically citing the blocked $1.7 billion Amazon acquisition in 2022 as the company's 'biggest wall.' Angle defends iRobot's strategic decision to use cameras over Lidar for navigation, stating Lidar is a 'dead-end technology which gives you no situational awareness,' prioritizing visual understanding and keeping COGS low. Angle admits the company 'got wet mopping wrong,' reacting late to customer preference for integrated wet mopping/vacuuming features, which Chinese competitors adopted earlier. The failure of the Amazon acquisition resulted in iRobot being owned by Pyia Robotics, a Chinese company and competitor, which Angle views as a 'tragedy for American innovation' and seeding manufacturing to China. The hosts reviewed their 2025 tech predictions, with Casey Newton going three for three, including predicting the AI culture war and the merger of X and XAI, while Kevin Roose missed predicting Apple acquiring Snap and OpenAI declaring AGI.

Context: The hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton of the Hardfork podcast discuss the recent bankruptcy filing of iRobot, the iconic American maker of the Roomba vacuum, featuring an interview with iRobot co-founder and former CEO, Colin Angle. The discussion centers on the competitive pressures from China, strategic product decisions like the Lidar versus camera debate, and the significant impact of the failed 2022 acquisition attempt by Amazon due to antitrust scrutiny. Following this analysis, the hosts review their previous year's tech predictions and offer new predictions for 2026.