Flow Hive raises a record-breaking $5.3 million on Indiegogo

By Lindsey Caldwell/March 9, 2015 8:05 pm EST

Crowdfunding records are being smashed right and left. We showed you Indiegogo's Flow Hive at the beginning of their fund. To catch you up, they asked for a measly $70,000 USD. Now, they broke the record for the most funds ever raised by a single project on Indiegogo. They raised $5.3 million USD for Flow Hive. Flow Hive broke the previous record on Indiegogo of $5 million USD raised by Hour of Code which aims to teach 100 million students, who don't have access to computer science courses, how to code.

There must be something in the air, perhaps the world is catching on to the sweet scent of entrepreneurship. Flow Hive's record-breaking fund occurs on the heels of Apple Watch competitor Pebble Time's record-breaking Kickstarter. Pebble's new color smartwatch has currently raised over $17 million USD, and still has more than two weeks to go.

The concept of online crowdfunding is new, but it hasn't stopped crowds from opening their wallets in record numbers to ideas that really speak to them. Crowdfunding has become a democratic marketplace system where consumers practically vote a project into realization using their dollars. Records are made to be broken. Let's take a look at some of Indiegogo's top ten crowdfunded projects. These each had set the record for the most money raised on Indiegogo, before a new project dethroned the old champion.

First up is Solar Roadways which makes solar-paneled, smart parking lots. JIBO the family robot also made the grade and was surpassed by Skully, the AR motorcycle helmet. The Lazer Team movie by Rooster Teeth (Red vs Blue) made the top ten. It was outperformed by LED cat-eared Axent Wear Headphones. Another breakthrough performer from Indiegogo is the Sondors eBike, and we tried it hands-on. It's an all-terrain electric bicycle that is designed to be the most affordable electric bike on the market. No one knows what future projects Indiegogo could unveil, but we know we'll be ready with one hand on our wallets as we await their new projects.

Source: Venture Beat