Latest news with #Kickstarter
Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Business
- Time Magazine
TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Touchland
Hand sanitizer: killer of germs and fashion symbol? Why not, asks Andrea Lisbona, the Barcelona native who set out to make the humble hand cleansing gel fashionable—even sexy. She launched her brand Touchland, made up of attractively packaged sanitizer 'mists' that come in many fragrances (e.g., 'applelicious' and 'frosted mint'), with a Kickstarter campaign after moving to Miami in 2018. The company's products were gaining traction even before the COVID-19 pandemic supercharged demand for hand sanitizers. But sales growth has skyrocketed in recent years, as tweens and teens amass and trade entire Touchland collections. Revenues were over $100 million in 2024, up more than sixfold from 2022. Today, Touchland sanitizers, as well as body and hair fragrance mists, are available for $10 to $20 at 2,500 U.S. retail outlets, including ULTA and Sephora. The brand was acquired by consumer goods company Church & Dwight for $700 million in May 2025. 'I moved to the U.S. with a deep belief that we could change the category and create something that resonated globally,' Lisbona says. Still, 'the scale and speed of our growth is beyond what I imagined.'
Entrepreneur
2 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
3D Printer Breaks Kickstarter Record, Raises $44M
The Kickstarter campaign is the most funded project in the history of the crowdfunding site, with pledges from 17,220 individual backers. When eufyMake, the creative tool brand under electronics company Anker Innovations, launched a Kickstarter campaign in April, it had an ambitious goal — to raise half a million dollars within two months to fund a new 3D printer, capable of printing designs on everything from blocks of wood to tote bags. The campaign immediately took off, raising over $10 million in 14 hours, according to a press release. Now, with less than two days to go before the campaign ends, Seattle-based eufyMake has raised over $44 million, breaking the Kickstarter record for the most funded project in the history of the crowdfunding site. (The previous record of $41.7 million was set by fantasy author Brandon Sanderson's Kickstarter campaign in March 2022 for four new novels.) "We're incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support from our backers," Frank Zhu, senior vice president of Anker Innovations and Eufy business group lead, stated in the press release. "Thanks to our community, we're not just launching a product — we're helping more people turn their ideas into something real." Related: A 3D Printer Used By Microsoft, Ford, and NASA Is Now Commercially Available — Here's What It Can Do The product that has garnered interest from 17,220 individual backers is EufyMake's UV printer, which could enable businesses to create new products. UV printers, or ultraviolet curing inkjet printers, use UV light to dry inks instantly as they are printed on a variety of materials, like wood, metal, and glass. EufyMake claims to have made the world's first personal UV printer, the E1. The printer turns 2D designs into 3D-textured artwork, with no prior experience with the technology required. A user places any surface under the printer and can print out a personalized message, photo, or design on the surface. There's a 3D element — the printer can stack filament to create texture in the finished product. The E1 is capable of printing directly on objects like phone cases, laptops, tote bags, cups, or banners, opening the doors for businesses that focus on customized products. The printer has a maximum print area of 180 by 130 millimeters, and can work with objects up to 50 millimeters thick. Related: 'Creators Left So Much Money on the Table': Kickstarter's CEO Reveals the Story Behind the Company's Biggest Changes in 15 Years The E1 costs nearly $2,000, but the price tag hasn't deterred backers. One popular option on Kickstarter, with over 3,700 backers at the time of writing, is the sold-out $1,970 early bird E1 rotary bundle, which allows users to print on cups, tumblers, and ceramic mugs as well as print 3D textures up to 5 millimeters in height on solid surfaces. The estimated delivery for the bundle is in July. Options still available for sale include the E1 Basic Bundle kit, which is priced at $1,900. The bundle is capable of printing 3D textures that are up to 5 millimeters in height on metal, wood, acrylic, ceramic, and solid materials. Nearly 100 backers have chosen this option at the time of writing, and the estimated delivery window for the product is in August. The most expensive option still available for sale is the $2,752 deluxe bundle, which allows users to print designs on fabrics like tote bags, wallets, and hats, as well as print on flat surfaces like banners. The E1 Kickstarter campaign closes on June 28 at 9:57 a.m. Eastern Time.
The Verge
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Would you watch your shows on a TinyTV?
It's clearly time: all the news about the transparent tech renaissance See all Stories Posted Jun 26, 2025 at 5:55 PM UTC Would you watch your shows on a TinyTV? I backed the TinyTV 2 on Kickstarter back in 2022, and it's a delight! When you change the 'channel' with its tiny remote or working dials, it'll realistically flick to the middle of your next video just as if you were watching it live. (It syncs timestamps!) Yeah, it's $60... but a gift or treat, perhaps? They also sell the transparent one. Note: If you buy something from these links, we might get affiliate revenue.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Lemon Sky Studios Launches Kickstarter for Metal Genesis, a Mech IP Universe
High-Octane Mech vs. Mech Action SHAH ALAM, MALAYSIA, June 26, 2025 / / -- Lemon Sky Studios has announced an upcoming Kickstarter campaign for Metal Genesis, an original new mech universe. The Metal Genesis Kickstarter pre-launch page is currently live with more details. Metal Genesis is the first fully original IP universe by Lemon Sky Studios, an art and animation studio known for their contributions in iconic games such as the Final Fantasy VII Remake, Armored Core VI, and Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered. This ambitious project aims to leverage the team's AAA expertise to create an expansive sci-fi saga told through games, animated films, comics, and more. This initial Kickstarter campaign's objective is to raise funds for an immersive digital experience to be released on Steam, with three chapters planned depending on the amount of funding secured. With enough support, the developers plan to expand Metal Genesis into other mediums and allow fans to interact with the IP in different ways, including playing, spectating, and collecting. For Metal Genesis: Rogue Regime, the first chapter to be launched as part of this universe, players must face off against a gauntlet of fearsome bosses as a team of three rebels, strategically switching between each pilot's signature mech with unique powers. Those who hope to succeed must survive the devastating onslaught of bullet hell attacks long enough to learn, adapt, and destroy the enemy. Lemon Sky has released the first Metal Genesis cinematic trailer to serve as a dramatic introduction to the rebel faction within the Metal Genesis Universe. Rise of the Renegades is available to watch on Youtube now. Players of Metal Genesis: Rogue Regime will get to enjoy the thrill of rebellion while rising up against an oppressive regime using the power of 'Gattai' - combining mechs to fuse into one unstoppable machine. In addition to the main singleplayer story campaign which explores the intrigue and conflict between interdimensional factions, the game will feature a leaderboard system which challenges players to sharpen their skills in battle, competing with other players to climb the ranks and claim the title of best mech pilot. For those who are interested in getting updates and the chance to back the project for rewards when the Metal Genesis Kickstarter begins, a pre-launch page is currently live on Kickstarter with the option to follow the campaign by selecting 'Notify me on launch'. Metal Genesis is also available to wishlist on Steam. Metal Genesis Team Lemon Sky Studios [email protected] Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube TikTok X Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Scientific American
2 days ago
- Science
- Scientific American
Math Enthusiasts Unite to Have Rover Calculate Pi on the Moon
While traversing the moon's surface after a planned launch later this year, Astrobotic's shoebox-sized CubeRover will have some downtime: extra computing power that won't always be in use. And thanks to a hugely successful crowdfunding campaign, it will use that spare time for an age-old nerdy pursuit—calculating the value of pi. When they realized that CubeRover wouldn't need all of its computing time, engineers at the private spaceflight company Astrobotic e-mailed Matt Parker, a math YouTuber and stand-up comedian, asking if he could think of a good use for it. Given his history of calculating pi in creative and curious ways on his channel, Parker didn't have to think long. 'I don't think I'd even gotten to the bottom of the e-mail,' Parker says. His first thought was 'Pi on the moon'; his second thought was 'Is this a scam?' After determining the e-mail was legitimate and hastily responding, Parker got to work. He wanted to be the first to calculate pi on the moon, but it had to be more meaningful than using the rover like any old computer. Instead his proposed code would incorporate random numbers generated by the moon data that the rover will collect to calculate increasingly accurate values of pi. There are many ways to calculate pi (π) with random numbers, and Parker is still choosing between options; for instance, the rover could use random numbers to signify coordinates inside a 2 × 2 square and calculate the proportion of points that end up within a circle with a radius of 1 that is embedded in that square. That number will approach π/4: the area of the unit circle divided by the area of the square. Parker could similarly use the proportion of random points in three dimensions that land within a unit sphere. Another option uses the formula for the surface area of a section of a sphere, which is especially alluring because it involves charting a random path that is much like the path a rover might take on the moon's surface. On supporting science journalism subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. Astrobotic officials were willing to do the project without making a profit but projected significant engineering costs to integrate the code into the rover and ensure it doesn't interfere with the mission's primary directive. If Parker could come up with $150,000, a small corner of the rover could be his. So he took to YouTube and the crowdfunding site Kickstarter and made a plea to his audience, hoping they could help make his dream come true. Just four hours after his announcement he had already exceeded his goal. Though he was initially taken by surprise by the support, Parker suspects he understands why people were so quick to rally around his project. 'People love being part of a community,' he says, emphasizing how the Internet brings math enthusiasts together. 'Maybe you were one of only a handful of students at school who loved math. But then, if you didn't do math for a career afterward, you'd never really realize how many other people love it.... [Now] there's a big nerdy community out there who have all found each other.' Will calculating pi on the moon enable any novel insight or scientific discovery? No. But according to Parker, that's part of the point. 'People have this weird impression that math is both useful [and] not for them.... I want to get across the opposite of that. Math can be useless. You can do it for fun, and it is for everyone.' Math's cognitive and social benefits are maximized, he says, when people do it for its own sake. He plans to collaborate with schools on this project, allowing any group of students who can prove they calculated the value of pi by hand to get involved. So far, Parker says, almost 100 schools and more than 2,000 students have signed on to participate. Andrea Davis, project manager and lead mechanical engineer for the rover at Astrobotic, is especially excited to get students involved: 'I'm hoping that a kid might see somebody like me and be like, 'I can do that too. I can be a rover designer. I can put stuff on the moon, and I'm actively doing it right now with the calculation of pi.''
