A tough week for hardware companies
In just over a week, iRobot, Luminar, and Rad Power Bikes all filed for bankruptcy. Although the two companies are very different companies that sell Roomba, Rider, and electric bikes, they faced similar challenges, including tariff pressures, failed big deals, and an inability to establish themselves beyond their initial successful products, as Sean O’Kane, Rebecca […]
Waymo temporarily suspends service in San Francisco as robotaxis stall due to power outage
Waymo suspended its robo-taxi service in San Francisco on Saturday night after a widespread power outage appeared to leave many vehicles stranded on the city’s streets. Numerous photos and videos posted on social media showed Waymo robotaxis stalling on roads and intersections as human drivers passed by or got stuck behind them. Waymo announced Saturday […]
Electrical startups raise concerns as EU wateres down 2035 EV targets
The future may be electric, but that future is being postponed. The European Commission has softened its ambitious plan to ban the sale of petrol cars by 2035, citing a need for flexibility. Instead of requiring 100% of new cars to be zero-emission vehicles by that date, the revised plan would allow 10% of new […]
Famous Israeli VC John Medved, who was diagnosed with ALS, championed technology to improve his life.
Years ago, when venture capitalist John Medved became interested in supporting various health tech startups, he never imagined that he would one day need them to improve his own quality of life. Israel’s close-knit startup community was dealt a blow in October when one of its best-known VCs, Medved, announced he was retiring with immediate […]
Google and Apple reportedly warned employees with visas to avoid traveling abroad
According to Business Insider, a law firm representing Google and Apple has warned employees who need a visa stamp to re-enter the United States to avoid leaving the country because the visa process will take longer than usual. BI said it had seen notes from BAL Immigration Law (representing Google) and Fragomen (representing Apple). “Given […]
‘It felt so wrong’: Colin Angle on iRobot, the FTC, and the Amazon deal that never was
When iRobot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last Sunday, it marked the end of an era for one of America’s most beloved robotics companies. The Roomba maker, which had sold over 50 million robots since its 2002 launch, had survived 35 years of near-death experiences and technical challenges only to be undone by what founder […]
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signs RAISE Act regulating AI safety
Governor Kathy Hochul signed the RAISE Act, making New York the second state in the U.S. to enact major AI safety legislation. The state Legislature passed the RAISE Act in June, but Hochul proposed changes to scale back the bill after lobbying from the technology industry. The New York Times reported that Hochul ultimately agreed […]
Sequoia partners debunk Brown shooting theory and test new leadership
Sean Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, is once again drawing unwanted attention to his high-profile venture firm after falsely accusing a Palestinian student of involvement in the Dec. 13 Brown University shooting and subsequent killing of an MIT professor. In a since-deleted post to X, Maguire noted that Brown was “actively erasing his online […]
Resolve AI, a startup led by former Splunk executives, reaches $1 billion Series A valuation
Resolve AI, a startup developing Autonomous Site Reliability Engineer (SRE), a tool to automatically maintain software systems, has raised a Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, according to three people familiar with the deal. The maximum valuation for the new round is $1 billion, the people said. However, the company’s actual blend valuation was […]
Establish a venture-backable company in a highly regulated field
Building in a regulated industry adds a huge hurdle to the already difficult journey of building a startup. And this week on Build Mode, Startup Battlefield editor Isabel Johannessen speaks with two founders who are trying to make progress in an industry ripe for disruption, despite regulatory issues that may have deterred many others. In […]