Last week, Scanadu Scout — a medical tricorder that tracks vital signs — raised $1,370,462, thus ending Matthew Inman’s (of The @Oatmeal) nearly year-long reign as Indiegogo’s top-funded campaign. When it ended on Saturday, the Scout had raised a whopping $1,664,574.
And then it was Monday.
At 8am PST, the Ubuntu Edge launched on Indiegogo to fund a next generation smartphone that doubles as a desktop computer. Things started happening fast — very fast.
First, it raised $135,483 in its first hour — an Indiegogo record. Receiving nearly 3.7 contributions per minute, Ubuntu hit $1 million in about four hours. It passed $2 million just after 4pm PST (in 8 hours), crossed through $3 million — 12 hours after launching — and hit $4 million in 45 hours.
As of this posting, the London-based campaign has raised $7,589,750 from 16541 contributors in 50 countries. It could very well be on its way to being the largest crowdfunding campaign ever.
Top 20 Countries by Contribution:
| 1. United States | 11. Italy |
| 2. Germany | 12. Austria |
| 3. UK | 13. Spain |
| 4. Netherlands | 14. Israel |
| 5. Australia | 15. Poland |
| 6. Canada | 16. Taiwan |
| 7. Sweden | 17. South Africa |
| 8. France | 18. New Zealand |
| 9. Singapore | 19. Mexico |
| 10. Brazil | 20. Chile |
In a lot of ways, Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux software has lot in common with Indiegogo’s crowdfunding philosophy — as does its Ubuntu Edge smartphone. The software is free and open sourced, a global platform that transcends borders and languages, and the Edge will harness this same power to be a gamechanger in the smartphone and personal computing market.
“Ubuntu” comes from a Nguni Bantu word (and South African philosophy) that translates to “human kindness.” If you think about it, it takes a lot of ubuntu (and passion) to make a crowdfunding campaign succeed. So far, it looks like Ubuntu Edge has had a lionshare of it.
A big congratulations to the Ubuntu team and good luck as they push toward their goal!
Reblogged from: blog.indiegogo.com
