With almost a month still to go, Sentai is very close to its £20K goal on Kickstarter. This crowdfunding campaign follows recent grant funding from the government, and will help Sentai help the elderly. How? £20K will allow Sentai to bring its social impact technology, geared towards assisting the elderly in living more independently in their own homes, to the mass market.
Sentai is a 'smart buddy' that uses AI and AVT (augmented voice technology) to help older people get by while living alone. Founder Phil needed help caring for his own dad but didn't want to annoy him, so created this device, which interacts, monitors, nudges – and can even detect an intruder, strike up a conversation to check in and contact a caregiver for help if needed.
"After 20 years of providing care, the fact I can check mum is up and has taken her pills - at the tap of an app - is such a relief during lockdown", reads one testimonial.
TechInclusionUK has just launched a crowdfunding initiative on Spacehive to combat digital exclusion in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
An issue that's really come to the surface in light of lockdown 'schooling from home', digital exclusion is exemplified by the fact that in the UK 700,000 of those aged 11-18 have no home internet access (via a computer or tablet). At the same time, however, there are approximately 11 million unwanted devices in the UK.
TechInclusion takes in these unused laptops, PCs and tablets, securely wiping and restoring them, before distributing them to those most in need via the Tower Hamlets Education Partnership. The organisation addresses access to education, but its solution takes environmental sustainability into account also. By adding years onto the lifecycle of unwanted laptops, it is lowering perilously high levels of e-waste.
"It’s a circular solution to an ever growing problem and we want to show that we can sustainably help provide tech to everyone in education who needs it. Digital exclusion and environmental sustainability need not be mutually exclusive", reads the campaign info.
TechInclusion is looking to raise £37,675, with which the team will professionally refurbish up to 500 donated devices and purchase up to 50 already refurbished laptops.
Disrupting the cycling insurance market, Laka has exceeded its Seedrs crowdfunding target; within 21 hours, it had already made £1M. Further investment is now being accepted in overfunding mode.
The purveyors of 'collective cover for cyclists' - where 80% of your fee goes straight back into the collective: fixing, replacing, helping, whatever, and the other 20% keeps Laka running - have had a great year. The insurtech company grew 215% in 2020, presumably alongside the number of post-lockdown cyclists on the road.
With growth in the personal mobility market showing no signs of abating (it's expected to hit £100B by 2025), Laka will use any funds raised to accelerate global expansion and create a roster of new products for its 21,000 users.
Tobias Taupitz, founder and CEO, said:
“The outdated traditional insurance model is based on insurers taking your money and profiting from not paying out claims. Not doing the very thing you pay them for is what makes them more money. It’s insane. Insurance is the best business model in the world - just not for customers. That’s why we’ve flipped insurance on its head and created a better, fairer way of doing insurance by sharing risk in a true collective."
"Our members share the cost of all claims and we only earn our share when settling claims for the collective. Now, following years of growth, we want to grow faster and bring the collective along with us. Laka has loads of potential - that’s why we’re crowdfunding."
Breaking away from the standard #MaddyCrowd structure to add this one because they just look so delicious... Blend My Day makes ready-to-blend smoothies and ready-to-soak oat bowls, before delivering them to your door so you can start everyday with a bang.
Totally plant-based, breakfast options (of which 20,000 have been sold to date) range from 'tropical coconut sorbet' and 'cinnamon-spiced pear pie' smoothies to banana bread and strawberry cheesecake inspired oat bowls. Did someone say dessert for breakfast? Yes - but with superfoods.
Blend My Day have just launched a campaign on Seedrs; £85K of a target £100K has been raised so far.
