‘It felt so wrong’: Colin Angle on iRobot, the FTC, and the Amazon deal that never was

The article discusses the bankruptcy of iRobot, the maker of the Roomba vacuum, and its founder Colin Angle’s perspective on the regulatory challenges that led to the company’s downfall. Despite iRobot’s long history and significant sales of over 50 million robots since 2002, the company was ultimately undone by what Angle describes as “avoidable” opposition from regulators, particularly the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Commission. The collapse followed Amazon’s blocked acquisition of iRobot in January 2024, a deal Angle argues would have fostered innovation and consumer choice amid a competitive and dynamic market with declining iRobot market share and emerging competitors. Angle criticizes the regulatory process as excessively lengthy and burdensome, involving an 18-month investigation with massive document production and resource expenditure by both iRobot and Amazon. He recounts a disheartening experience during his deposition at the FTC, where blocked deals were displayed as trophies, reflecting a mindset focused on preventing mergers rather than supporting innovation and economic growth