Sony Global Education Launches a KOOV Indiegogo Campaign to Fund a Software Coding and Robotics Kit for the Next Generation of Innovators

KOOV is already available in Japan and China, and Sony is now looking to expand the program to the United States

By Robert Hoskins, Crowdfunding PR

San Diego, California – Sony Electronics in conjunction with Sony Global Education announced that the KOOV Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to fund a new coding and robotics kit for the next generation of young innovators has raised more than half of it crowdfunding goal.

The Sony Global Education team developed KOOV as a fresh approach to learning robotics and programming. KOOV is already available in Japan and China, and Sony is now looking to expand the program to the US in order to gain feedback and insight into the American market.

KOOV: The all-in-one coding, robotics and design kit for the next generation of innovators from Sony

KOOV is a robotics and coding educational kit made up of blocks, sensors, motors, actuators, and a companion app that teaches children core concepts about design, coding and robotics. The app also features a secure social space, where children can share their designs and code with other young inventors from around the world.

The blocks can be assembled into any shape, with the final figure capable of being controlled as a robot. The kit encourages learners to “Play” by building with 7 kinds of translucent blocks, “Code” by controlling the assembled figure through the KOOV app, and “Create” by embracing their creativity and imagination.

Sony Global Education believes that the teaching materials for robotics and programming will play a major role in cultivating STEM literacy and nurturing the next generation of problem solvers.

KOOV was built on the belief that STEM learning tools should be accessible to all children.  Through the use of inclusive colors, shareable design and the goal of building a foundation for future STEM learning, Sony hopes to attract parents of children 8 to 14 years old, with equal emphasis on boys and girls.

Pre-orders are available for a limited time beginning June 20th via Indiegogo, with product scheduled to ship to backers in early December. The suggested retail price is $359 for the Starter Kit and $499 for the Advanced Kit with limited quantities available at discounts of up to 40% for early backers.  Interested consumers can learn more about KOOV, and place preorders at https://igg.me/at/KOOV.

 

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Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.

On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding PR” to see why Mr. Hoskins runs one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding PR, social media and marketing agencies that has amassed a huge social media following and is dedicated to supporting a wide variety of donation, rewards and equity crowdfunding campaigns.

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Life Science Equity Crowdfunding Site, Capital Cell, Makes Short List for Prestigious UK Business Angels Association’Best International Growth Business’ Award

The UKBAA’s Black-Tie Investment Awards 2017 Dinner will take place on July 6th, at the Dorchester Hotel, London, with over 300 leading innovators and investors assembled to celebrate

By Robert Hoskins, Crowdfunding PR

London, United Kingdom – Capital Cell, Europe’s first equity crowdfunding platform specialized in life science, has been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Best International Growth Business‘ award at the UK Business Angels Association Investment Awards 2017.

Life Science Equity Crowdfunding Site, Capital Cell, Makes Short List for Prestigious UK Business Angels Association Best International Growth Business Award

Capital Cell is Europe’s first equity crowdfunding platform specialized in life science. Capital Cell opens life science investment to everyone by sourcing the most innovative early-stage life science companies, and presenting them on a regulated online investment platform. In recognition of their contribution to the European life science ecosystem, the company has now been shortlisted for the Best International Growth Business award at the UK Business Angels Association Investment Awards 2017.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Capital Cell has been recognized so early on in it’s expansion into the UK,” says Laura Ferguson, UK Director. “The reception to our arrival has been overwhelmingly positive from players throughout the life science ecosystem, including specialized investors such as Angels in MedCity, with whom we are collaborating closely, as well as the NHS innovation, science parks and startup incubators. It’s wonderful to have that traction formally recognized.”

“Capital Cell has proven itself as a platform for early stage investment in a very challenging environment,” Chairman Ian Tomlinson added. “We are extremely excited about scaling up in the UK, which is a global leader not only in life science innovation but also in equity crowdfunding. As an investment area, life science has the potential for both huge social impact and significant financial returns and the companies listed on Capital Cell are all trying to solve a major unmet medical need. By opening up these investment opportunities to more people we hope to be able to help the UK remain at the cutting edge of life science commercialization.”

Capital Cell has been trading in Spain for just over two years, and has successfully closed 14 life science crowdfunding campaigns, including the country’s largest life science crowdfunding campaign of over €1.2M, for a potential therapeutic cure for MS.

Scaling-up from this Spanish platform, Capital Cell UK has just launched at www.capitalcell.co.uk, with a range of companies solving unmet needs from malaria control to female fertility enhancement and autoimmune disease.

The UKBAA black-tie awards dinner will take place on July 6th, at the Dorchester Hotel, London, with 300 leading innovators and investors assembled to celebrate the best of UK business.

# # #

Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

---

Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.

On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins runs one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding PR, social media and marketing agencies that has amassed a huge social media following and is dedicated to supporting a wide variety of donation, rewards and equity crowdfunding campaigns.

 

 

 

IBM, Indiegogo and Arrow Electronics Partner to Fuel the Next Generation of Internet of Things with Crowdfunding

Entrepreneurs to Get Free Access to IBM’s Watson IoT Platform and Discounts on Cloud Services

By Robert Hoskins

Munich, Germany – IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced a partnership with Indiegogo and Arrow Electronics (NYSE: ARW) to help bring new Internet of Things (IoT) ideas to life. This collaboration brings IBM’s Watson IoT platform and cloud services together with ideation to production services from Arrow Electronics and Indiegogo – the world’s largest crowd sourced funding platform with more than $1.1 billion raised.

IBM, Indiegogo and Arrow Electronics Partner to Fuel the Next Generation of Internet of Things Startups

Now, qualified Indiegogo entrepreneurs will have no-charge access to IBM Watson IoT Platform via Bluemix for an unlimited amount of time, giving them access to more than 160 industry-leading cloud services to incorporate ready-to-use capabilities, such as artificial intelligence, Blockchain, advanced data analytics and cyber security into their latest IoT inventions. In addition, qualified startups will have access to IBM’s global network of technical and industry expertise, education, mentoring and enterprise customers and business partners, all of which can help to bring new and innovative IoT products to market quickly.

“We’re very excited to be partnering with Arrow and IBM to help entrepreneurs bring their wildest IoT dreams to life,” said David Mandelbrot, CEO of Indiegogo. “We know that fundraising is only one piece of the entrepreneurial puzzle, and by working together with IBM and Arrow we’ll be able to continue making it easier for entrepreneurs to bring their ideas all the way from concept to market.”

Experts predict that by 2022, the IoT landscape will be worth $14.2 trillion.¹ A critical driver to this growth will be entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses which, while armed with ideas, lack the resources and skills to develop these next-generation IoT innovations and bring them to market.

Early examples of Arrow Certified Indiegogo IoT startup projects include:

• Fitly, which created Smart Plate, the first intelligent nutrition platform that instantly analyzes and tracks what you eat. An industry first, Smart Plate was developed with support from Arrow and IBM Cloud, and was successfully funded on Indiegogo.
• PlayDate, a startup that launched on Indiegogo, created the first smart ball for pets that lets owners interact with their dogs and cats from anywhere in the world. The PlayDate team ran the highest grossing pet tech crowdfunding campaign to date, but used Indiegogo for much more than just funding. They were one of the first campaigns to get Arrow-certified, a badge of approval on their manufacturing plans, and they received $100,000 in flash funding as well as engineering design support. “Arrow and Indiegogo’s support was incredibly valuable,” said Kevin Li, CEO at PlayDate. “Our campaign with Indiegogo opened doors with partners and acted as market validation for investors. Indiegogo and Arrow partnering with IBM will be a huge benefit for entrepreneurs using the platform.”

Through this partnership, IBM, Indiegogo and Arrow are removing key barriers and providing the expertise, resources and funding that entrepreneurs need to develop innovative new connected products and quickly and cost-effectively bring them to market. Combining IBM’s powerful cognitive capabilities with Indiegogo’s entrepreneur platform and Arrow’s end-to-end technology design and production expertise will rapidly increase the volume and quality of IoT devices in market and help fuel a new generation of entrepreneurs.

“Entrepreneurs and startups play a vital role in creating the next generation of businesses – their drive, innovation and passion for bringing new ideas to life is particularly important in building the IoT,” said Harriet Green, General Manager Watson IoT. “We are thrilled to partner with Indiegogo and Arrow Electronics to accelerate IoT innovation and development around the world working hand in hand with some of the best and brightest entrepreneurs, developers and startups to build an even better IoT.”

In addition to IBM’s benefits, Arrow provides qualified Indiegogo campaigns with up to $500,000 in benefits, such as component parts, online product design and prototyping tools, comprehensive technical reviews with Arrow engineers, manufacturing and supply chain services and sustainable recycling. As the only global technology company capable of providing comprehensive, sensor-to-sensor, full IoT product lifecycle solutions, Arrow is uniquely positioned to guide the biggest names in technology, and startups and makers alike, along their IoT production journey.

“IBM will take our groundbreaking collaboration with Indiegogo to a whole new level, helping us reach more entrepreneurs and get their innovative products to market quickly and cost-effectively,” said Arrow’s Chief Digital Officer Matt Anderson. “As one of the world’s largest providers of electronic and IT products and services in the world, Arrow has the breadth of resources and depth of expertise to successfully shepherd promising entrepreneurs along their path to market. Arrow engineers around the world are eager to collaborate with Indiegogo entrepreneurs on cutting-edge tech designs that incorporate the best that IBM’s Watson IoT and cloud services have to offer.”

IBM made the announcement at its first-ever Genius of Things Summit at the company’s Watson IoT headquarters in Munich, where customers, partners and influencers gathered to examine how Watson clients are implementing IoT solutions that drive exceptional outcomes. Around the globe, IBM is working with more than 6,000 clients, across industries, to help them truly realize the benefits of IoT. For more information, please visit:on IBM Watson IoT

Originally launched as a crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo is the place for entrepreneurs to move their ideas quickly from concept to market. Entrepreneurs on Indiegogo are able to showcase their ideas directly to users, take orders for products early in their lifecycle and ultimately build direct relationships with their first customers. Indiegogo is the platform of choice for early stage entrepreneurs and the creative teams of some of the most successful consumer product companies in the world. The company was launched in 2008 and is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Los Angeles and New York.

# # #

Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

---

Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.

On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins is considered one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding experts that has amassed a huge social media following, which is dedicated to supporting donation-, rewards- and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns.