Zillow Tanks, iRobot Plummets 72% in Wild Midday Trading
It was a chaotic midday session with huge swings driven by clinical trial results, bankruptcy, and competitive threats. iRobot’s stock collapsed by 72% after declaring Chapter 11.
Category: Startups
iRobot Files for Bankruptcy. The Roomba’s Reign is Over.
The pioneering robotics company iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This follows years of financial decline and the collapse of a $1.4 billion acquisition by Amazon.
A Game Studio’s Patreon Is a Sign of Industry Desperation
The indie studio behind the Burnout-like game Wreckreation has notified all staff of possible redundancy. In a last-ditch effort, they’re asking fans for direct funding via Patreon, highlighting a brutal funding climate.
French startup gets €6M to make farm tractors drive themselves
A French startup is accelerating the shift to autonomous farming. Agreenculture has secured €6 million in Series A funding to industrialize its plug-and-play autonomy kits for agricultural machinery manufacturers.
The $800 Apple Mistake That Could’ve Been Worth $400 Billion
Apple’s third cofounder, Ronald Wayne, sold his 10% stake in the company for just $800 in 1976. That decision, made just two weeks after the company was founded, might be the most expensive “what if” in business history. His share today could be worth a staggering $75 to $400 billion.
A Startup Just Raised $60 Million To Tinker With The Sky
A startup named Stardust Solutions has raised a massive $60 million funding round, the largest ever for a geoengineering company. This move is making researchers nervous as private actors start taking a theoretical and risky climate intervention seriously.
OpenAI’s AI is Getting Scarily Good at Hacking
OpenAI’s models have dramatically improved at hacking challenges, jumping from 27% to 76% success in months. This milestone highlights the urgent safety and geopolitical stakes as companies like Tencent scramble for AI talent.
A British startup is mapping space junk with tiny sensors
Odin Space is tackling a growing problem in Earth’s orbit: tiny, untrackable debris that can still destroy satellites. The company just raised $3 million to scale its sensor technology, which it compares to a weather forecast for space. Its first commercial “Nano Sensors” are slated to launch in 202
A New €60M Fund Aims to Turn European Science into Global Companies
A new venture firm, U2V, is launching with a €60 million fund to invest in pre-Seed and Seed-stage DeepTech startups from European universities. Its goal is to bridge the gap between scientific research and commercial success by connecting founders with industry partners.
Allbirds Co-Founder’s New DTC Bet: Sell Stuff People Buy Every Month
Joey Zwillinger, who stepped down as Allbirds CEO in 2024, is launching a women’s health startup called Biologica. He says the key to DTC success now is a product that drives frequent, recurring sales—something his famous wool sneakers couldn’t do.