Shubham Banerjee becomes the youngest Entrepreneur to receive Venture Capital Funding (2014) - Video Credit Intel Capital
BRAIGO LABS INC. RECEIVES INVESTMENT FROM INTEL CAPITAL)
Funding accelerates development of new braille printer/embosser technology “Braigo” to help the 50 million legally blind individuals worldwide with low cost, silent, portable and IOT-enabled products.
Palo Alto, California, USA – Nov 4, 2014 – Braigo Labs Inc. announced that it has received a seed round investment from Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization. The funds will be used to further expand the company’s R&D capabilities around the Braigo line of low-cost, portable Braille printer/embosser devices and other products catering to the accessibility markets.
Braigo Labs Inc. was founded by Shubham Banerjee, a middle school student from Santa Clara, California, who invented the open source DIY Braille printer Braigo v1.0 in February 2014 using Lego Mindstorms. He subsequently released a new prototype, BraigoTM v2.0, at Intel Developer Forum (IDF 2014). This consumer-focused braille printer, which uses new technology and an Intel Edison chip, is portable, silent, IOT-enabled and will be offered at a price point well below currently available products for the visually impaired.
Banerjee said: “I have been working with bootstrapped funds from my parents since February 2014. I am ecstatic that Intel Capital is investing early in our effort to disrupt the braille printer/embosser industry."
“It all started with a science fair project idea, but the shocking price of braille printers -- at $2,000 or more – motivated me to start a journey to help the visually impaired,” he added. “Intel Capital’s investment will help open up opportunities for me to work with professionals and eventually bring the product to more than 50 million blind people worldwide.”
The investment was announced at the Intel Capital Global Summit, where investments across a wide range of technology sectors were disclosed – from wearables and the Internet of Things to cloud infrastructure and big data analytics.
“With Intel Capital’s stewardship, Intel continues to invest in pioneering companies that are developing the latest innovations,” said Mike Bell, corporate vice president and general manager of the New Devices Group at Intel.
Terms of the investment, which was led by Intel Capital Managing Director Rob Rueckert, were not disclosed.
About Braigo Labs
Founded by middle school student Shubham Banerjee, Braigo Labs Inc. is committed to creating, researching, designing and developing new technology innovations and services. The mission of the company is to bring "Humanely Optimized" technologies that are innovative, affordable and cater to solving life's problems.