Amazon Acquires iRobot as Bolt Mobility Abruptly Vanishes
TechCrunch's top stories this week include Amazon's $1.7 billion purchase of iRobot and the sudden disappearance of Bolt Mobility's scooter fleets. Meanwhile, Y Combinator scales back its massive startup batches and Robinhood cuts another 23% of its staff.
This week brings a major acquisition as Amazon spends $1.7 billion to buy iRobot, the maker of the popular Roomba vacuum. This surprising move continues a recent trend of aggressive expansion for the tech giant, following previous purchases of Whole Foods and One Medical. Meanwhile, Facebook announces it is shutting down its live shopping features in October, shifting focus away from streamed e-commerce.
The most read story of the week involves Bolt Mobility, a bike and scooter rental company co-founded by Usain Bolt, which abruptly vanishes from multiple cities. This sudden departure leaves municipalities dealing with abandoned equipment and unanswered communications. In other downsizing news, Robinhood lays off an additional 23% of its workforce, with CEO Vlad Tenev taking full responsibility for overhiring during recent boom years.
Y Combinator is also shrinking its scale after peaking at an enormous 414 companies in its last accelerator batch. The next cohort includes approximately 250 startups, which represents a significant reduction while still remaining a massive group. On the corporate side, Starbucks pushes into the web3 space, aiming to capitalize on its highly collectible brand merchandise through new digital ventures.