Ubuntu Edge May Have Just Set the Crowdfunding Record

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By Kurt Wagner2013-08-19 18:13:01 UTC

You had a good run, Pebble Watch, but there's a new sheriff in town. At least for the next three days.

Crowdfunding platform Indiegogo announced on Friday that the site's Ubuntu Edge campaign has set the record as the largest crowdfunding project ever — more than 24,000 donors have offered up nearly $11.5 million in funding as of Monday morning. The Ubuntu Edge project surpassed the industry's previous record holder, the Pebble Watch campaign facilitated by Kickstarter, which ended last May with close to $10.3 million in funding.

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The Ubuntu Edge is a smartphone created by UK-based software company Canonical, advertised as having the "mobility of a smartphone and the power of a desktop on a single device," according to Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth. According to the smartphone's Indiegogo campiagn page, the Ubuntu Edge will have significantly more internal storage (128GB) than either the iPhone 5 (64GB) or Galaxy S4 (16GB), despite a cheaper price.

The campaign has averaged more than $419,000 in donations per day, but it's still more than $20 million shy of it's $32 million funding goal — with only three days remaining. Because Canonical used a "fixed funding" plan, the funds raised will only be collected if the goal is met — meaning there's a good chance 24,000-plus investors are going to receive a refund.

Canonical said the funding goal was set high to account for scale and the use of parts "not yet proven for multi-million-unit production." And if that goal isn't met? "We will focus only on commercially available handsets and there will not be an Ubuntu Edge," they wrote.

Looks like the Pebble Watch reigns supreme after all.

What's your favorite crowdfunding project? Tell us in the comments below.

Image: Indiegogo, Ubuntu Edge

Topics: Apps and Software, canonical, crowdfunding, indiegogo, kickstarter, Mobile, pebble watch, Tech, Ubuntu Edge