Hardware meltdown hits iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes as all three file for bankruptcy amid shifting markets and broken deals.
Matilda
A Rough Week For Hardware Companies
What’s Behind the Hardware Meltdown of 2025? In a stunning turn of events just days before Christmas 2025, three once-prominent hardware companies—iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes—have all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Though they operate in wildly different sectors (smart vacuums, lidar sensors, and electric bikes), their downfalls share eerie similarities: reliance on single-product success, evaporating demand, and strategic missteps that left them vulnerable when the market cooled. Why did these companies collapse so quickly, and what does it say about the future of hardware innovation? Credit: iRobot The Common Threads: Tariffs, Timing, and Overreliance Despite their differences, iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes all stumbled over the same pitfalls. Each built early success on a flagship product—Roomba, automotive-grade lidar, and premium e-bikes—but struggled to evolve beyond those identities. When pandemic-driven demand receded and global supply chains tightened, they lack…
