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From Roombas to e-bikes, why are hardware startups going bankrupt? | Equity Podcast

The hardware world had a brutal week, with iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes all filing for bankruptcy. 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. Chapters: 00:00 –…

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

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.

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction

00:24 – AI slop is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year

06:07 – Amazon’s $10 billion OpenAI investment

10:43 – Databricks raises $10 billion in a Series L

14:14 – Coursera acquires Udemy

19:17 – Hardware bankruptcies: iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes

26:21 – Trump’s AI executive order targets state regulation

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

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3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. @GNARGNARHEAD

    December 20, 2025 at 5:13 am

    ahh, some good old fashion authentic human slop…

  2. @SandeepChauhan-u8k

    December 21, 2025 at 1:49 am

    Hi

  3. @CindyBober-g6x

    December 22, 2025 at 8:15 pm

    what do I do if my YouTube beta is full

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Intero Biosystems Wins Startup Battlefield for its Lab-Grown Digestive Systems

Congrats to Intero Biosystems, this year’s Startup Battlefield 200 victor! They’re developing lab-grown tissue that mimics our digestive system, to study how drugs and compounds effect our bodies…before they effect our bodies.

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Congrats to Intero Biosystems, this year’s Startup Battlefield 200 victor!

They’re developing lab-grown tissue that mimics our digestive system, to study how drugs and compounds effect our bodies…before they effect our bodies.

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Can social media enter a new era? With a new leadership team at the helm, Bluesky is betting that openness, user choice, and new technology can reshape how online communities are built. CEO Toni Schneider and COO Rose Wang discuss the future of social media, competing with established platforms, and what it takes to build the next generation of consumer technology.

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Founders may have the right team and tech and still miss what it takes to manufacture and scale. Bedrock Robotics’ Kevin Peterson and Foxglove’s Adrian Macneil share what they’ve learned about crossing that gap.

#TechCrunchDisrupt2026

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