Shubham Banerjee, Braigo Labs. Image via Braigolabs.com
Intel Capital, the investment arm of chip giant Intel, has said it will invest in Braigo Labs, making its 13-year-old founder Shubham Banerjee the youngest person ever to receive venture-capital funding.
“That’s a big thing,” Shubham said about the distinction, in an interview with NBC.
Shubham’s first invention was called Braigo 1.0, a Lego Braille printer that reduced the price of a printer from more than US$2,000 to US$350.
“I was just looking to help the visually impaired,” said Shubham, whose invention came about after the youngster queried how blind people read. Upon learning of braille, he discovered that braille printers were incredibly expensive.
Now his latest creation, Braigo 2.0, is “the cheapest, lightest Braille printer ever made,” said Shubham. “Technology should help us to make our life easier and not become a burden due to high cost.”
With that, Intel Capital has got involved, making the undisclosed but landmark investment in the young entrepreneur.
“Intel Capital invests in the technology continuum that runs from wearables and the internet of things to big data analytics – and everything in between, including silicon, smart devices, PCs, the cloud and data centres,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice-president.
“We are focused on helping innovative companies develop across this technology ecosystem, and we expect to invest a total of US$355m this year,” said Sodhani of Intel’s investments as a whole.
