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 Colin Angle calls “avoidable” regulatory opposition.
The collapse followed Amazon’s January 2024 decision to scuttle its $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot after 18 months of investigation by the FTC and European regulators. In this candid conversation, Angle reflects on what he describes as a profoundly frustrating process, the chilling message it sends to entrepreneurs, and his determination to move forward with a new venture in consumer robotics.
Avoidable Regulatory Opposition
Angle thinks there’s a real lesson around the role of the FTC and the European Commission. The goal, of course, is to avoid the abuses that can happen in monopolies and with the goal of protecting consumer choice and protecting innovation. What happened was that iRobot and Amazon came together for the expressed purpose of creating more innovation, more consumer choice, at a time when iRobot’s trajectory was honestly different from where it was several years earlier.
In the EU, we had a 12% market share [but it was] declining where the number one competitor was only three years old in the market, which is nearly the definition of a vibrant and dynamic marketplace. And in the United States, iRobot’s market share was higher, but it was declining and there were multiple growing competitors bringing outside innovation into the marketplace.
The 18-Month Investigation
What was that 18-month process actually like? What were you being asked to do? The amount of money and time spent was indescribable. I would not be surprised if over 100,000 documents were created and delivered.
iRobot invested a significant part of our discretionary earnings against fulfilling the requirements that went along with doing the transaction. Amazon was forced to invest many, many, many times that. There was a whole team, both internal and external employees and lawyers and economists working to try to, in as many different ways as possible — because it seemed like our message was falling on deaf ears — demonstrate that this acquisition was not going to create a monopolistic situation.
The Chill Effect on Entrepreneurship
How do you think what happened here changes the calculus for startup founders who see acquisition as their exit strategy? Do you think we’re in a world where American tech companies can’t scale through M&A? Risk has a chilling effect. If you’re an entrepreneur, your only option is to hope that it doesn’t happen again.
The reason you and I are talking is I hope by my words I can make it less likely that it will happen again. I founded a new company and my outlook on exit strategy and even commercialization strategy is impacted by the experiences I had at iRobot.
iRobot’s Journey
iRobot was a bunch of people in an academic lab saying, “We were promised robots. Where are the robots?” If I could be pissed off that I don’t have the robots we were promised, I should do something about it. If not us, who? If not now, when?
One of the co-founders, my professor Rod Brooks, had pioneered an AI technology which allowed the embedding of machine intelligence in low-cost robotics. The mission of the company was to build cool stuff, deliver a great product, have fun, make money, and change the world.
TC: You called the bankruptcy “avoidable” and a “tragedy for consumers.” Walk me through what you think regulators got wrong in blocking the Amazon acquisition.
CA: I think there’s a real lesson around the role of the FTC and the European Commission. The goal, of course, is to avoid the abuses that can happen in monopolies and with the goal of protecting consumer choice and protecting innovation.
TC: What was that 18-month process actually like? What were you being asked to do? The amount of money and time spent was indescribable.
CA: I would not be surprised if over 100,000 documents were created and delivered. iRobot invested a significant part of our discretionary earnings against fulfilling the requirements that went along with doing the transaction.
TC: How do you think what happened here changes the calculus for startup founders who see acquisition as their exit strategy? Do you think we’re in a world where American tech companies can’t scale through M&A?
CA: Risk has a chilling effect. If you’re an entrepreneur, your only option is to hope that it doesn’t happen again.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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