The Missing Canary in America's Innovation Mine
iRobot’s bankruptcy and planned sale to a Chinese firm should prompt a hard look at how U.S. regulators define success in technology policy.
Only a few years ago, regulators worked to block Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot. That decision reflected a narrow, short-term view that prioritized scoring a political win against a large U.S. technology company while discounting the broader consequences for American innovation. Preventing the deal did not preserve a domestic robotics champion. Instead, it left an important U.S. firm without the capital, scale, or market access needed to compete globally.
Blocking an acquisition may satisfy anti-Big Tech impulses, but the policy fails if it accelerates the transfer of critical innovation and industrial capacity out of the United States. Policymakers should not restrain successful American companies, but instead focus on strengthening national competitiveness.
Illustration created with assistance from Google Gemini.
