Rad Power's Decline, Batteries, and Tariffs

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. 

Listen to the full episode to hear more news from the week, including: 

• How "slop" became Merriam-Webster's word of the year — and why it's become bigger than just AI-generated content 

• Why Databricks raised $10 billion at a $134 billion valuation (in a Series L!) instead of just going public already 

• The Coursera-Udemy merger and whether online course platforms can survive the AI era 

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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