Jan 22
If your knowledge of engineering stops with putting batteries in a TV remote, you might try fiddling around with a littleBits kit for a day.
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Nov 20
LittleBits Connects With $11.1M To Transform Its Electronics Kit Business Into A Hardware Platform
Posted in: Today's Chili
Big things are coming for littleBits – the New York-based startup that makes lego-style electronics kits. The company, originally conceived by founder Ayah Bdeir in the MIT Media Lab (and backed in part by its head, Joi Ito), has already picked up traction for its first product: kits for children and hobbyists to create fun objects at home (see more in the video below). Today, it is announcing a Series B of $11.1 million to take that concept to the next level: building out a B2B platform for hardware innovation.
There are a number of science and tech partners already working with littleBits and its platform, although Bdeir says it will not be disclosing the names until next year, when the first products come out.
This latest round is being led by True Ventures and new investor Foundry Group, and it also includes new investors Two Sigma Ventures and Vegas Tech Fund (Zappos’ Tony Hseih’s fund); as well as Khosla Ventures, Mena Ventures, Neoteny Labs, O’Reilly AlphaTech, Lerer Ventures and other angel investors. Brad Feld of Foundry is also joining littleBits’ board. This brings the total raised by littleBits to over $15 million, including a $3.65 million Series A round; and $850,000 in seed funding. During the Series A announcement in June 2012, littleBits also struck a manufacturing and supply chain management deal with PCH International.
Moving to a B2B model from one targeting consumers was always on the cards, says Bdeir. “It was a part of the strategy ever since I raised the seed round.” It was a two step strategy: step one was inventing kits for kids/education “to lower the barrier for entry to make it easier to start with electronics as possible, and the platform is step two. It’s about raising the ceiling and putting the power in the hands of designers.”
That is because at its heart, Bdeir says littleBits “is a tool and platform for others to invent.” Focusing on B2B will help littleBits position itself as “a leading hardware innovation platform in the world that others can use to invent and make their products and designs.”
Interestingly, this is actually a part of a bigger trend we’re seeing in the hardware movement, to create products and platforms that help others realise their hardware visions. There is of course NYC neighbor Makerbot, and over in the UK, design agency Berg has launched Berg Cloud, a platform for those making connected devices – interestingly also a progression from a hardware product.
(In Berg’s case, it was their Little Printer project that inspired CEO Matt Webb and others at Berg to pivot the company. It’s also picked up a $1.3 million seed round from Connect Ventures, Initial Capital, and Index Ventures to realise their ambition of making it as easy to develop connected hardware as it is to develop for the web.)
LittleBits is not revealing any figures for how the electronics kids have sold (we have noted before that they are wonderful but are priced at a premium, with starter kits today costing just under $100). But Bdeir tells us that sales have quadrupled in the last year. In fact, part of the funding will be used to help make sure that the company can keep up with the demand its getting for the products – effectively that means more business development and sales people to close retail deals, and developers to continue making more things to add to the modular library to expand that offering. “The number of SKUs that we have is close to 80 and we have hundreds more on the way,” she says.
Back to the platform vision, the idea will be for new prototypes, and perhaps even products, to sit alongside those that are coming from littleBits itself. LittleBits will take a revenue share as part its business model. “We definitely want to support other businesses who want to start their own product lines,” she says. “A lot of game changers start in the hands of large companies these days, and then concepts get democratized and put in the hands of everyday people. But that is changing in areas like game development and manufacturing with the likes of Makerbot. We’re doing the same with electronics. It remains a very top down industry, but now we are bringing it into the hands of everyone.”
Below, a video of how littleBits’ kit works, and below that, a link to the company’s latest Synth Kit collaboration with Korg, which points to how third parties could work with the ‘platform.’
littleBits Synth Kit in collaboration with KORG from littleBits on Vimeo.
Apr 11
The smallest of chunks can become something much bigger with careful construction and a bit of planning. LittleBits—an awesome little building tool that sits somewhere on the spectrum between Lego and arduino, incorporating the best parts of both—is showing off that potential big time in the windows of NYC’s MoMa Design Stores this month. More »
Feb 10
We haven’t checked in with littleBits in quite some time and, honestly, it was a bit of a surprise to find the electronic tinker toys hiding in a quiet corner of the floor at Toy Fair this year. The property has grown quite a bit in the past few years. For one, it’s no longer a “project” but an actual shipping product. And in the last year founder Ayah Bdeir has turned it from a great concept into an actual company with serious investors. For those of you unfamiliar with littleBits, the goal is to do for electronics what LEGO did for structural engineering. The small color coded “blocks” snap together with magnets allowing even a novice to create a functioning circuit in seconds. The magnets will only connect in one orientation, preventing you from pushing current through a component in the wrong direction and ruining it. Ayah’s inspiration is not just LEGO, but object oriented programing languages that simplify building code, allowing developers to focus on the more creative aspects of software making. By doing some of the heavy logical lifting for you, littleBits hopes that potential electrical engineers and prototypers can focus on the goal rather than the minutia of laying out a breadboard or soldering resistors in place.
The latest version of the platform, v0.3, debuted just a couple of months ago and not only brings new pieces to the littleBits universe, but also adds legs to the blocks for improved stability when piecing together your projects. Currently there are four kits available: the three piece Teaser kit for $29, the seven piece Holiday kit for $49, the 10 piece Starter kit for $89 and the 14 piece Extended kit for $149. (You can also buy individual Bits for between $10 and $35.) If you’re in need of inspiration there are a number of projects for you peruse on the site and the company is even considering packaging them up as pre-planned kits. Though, unlike other electronics project bundles (such as the ubiquitous BrushBot), the magnetic pieces can easily be disassembled and re-purposed if you tire of your creation. While the concept has its roots in brands like Snap Circuits, littleBits definitely provides more freedom than those single purpose offerings. For more, check out the video after the break.
Gallery: littleBits hands-on
Filed under: Misc
Aug 20
I’ve been hearing about LittleBits, an electronics kit for hobbyists and kids, for quite a while but I never got a chance to play with them until recently. The company recently announced a funding round with hardware manufacturer PCH and they launched their Extended Kit, a new box of bits.
The kit allows you to build simple circuits using a power source, a connector, and an output. For example, you can connect an LED directly to the 9-volt power supply or you can add a potentiometer or switch to turn the LED on and off manually. There are other bits that allow you to pulse the output devices and add light and motion controls.
Fans of old-timey electronics kits will find this whole setup quite familiar. The system is just complex enough to be interesting and simple enough for even young kids to use. My six-year-old son and I were able to build simple circuits and pretend, for example, we were making a trap for his sister’s dolls using a rolling switch and piezo buzzer.
The pieces connect with small, foolproof magnetic brackets and stick together even during rough play. You can power projects via a 9-volt battery or with a USB cable (included in the Extended kit) and the pieces are mostly kid-safe especially considering that the wee ones will probably try to put their tongue on the LEDs when unsupervised.
Now for the bad news. The Extended kit costs $149 and the basic kit – which I’d recommend – costs $89. It’s a bit pricey, and considering electronics kits like this one cost nearly the same, picking up the LittleBits is a bit of a stretch. I do believe the prices will go down over time and these are definitely far cooler than any 500-in-1 generic hobby kit, but sticker shock may drive parents away.
However, the kits are very clearly a labor of love and are great fun for geeks and geeks-to-be. The Extended kit adds USB power and a large USB fan to the mix as well as a plethora of momentary switches. You also get a piezo buzzer and long-lead LED for creating a buzzing, highly annoying light up bug.
The Starter Kit includes a pressure sensor and the aforementioned pulse bit that sends a regular pulse to the output, allowing you to create an intermittent flasher. You can also add a “bar graph” to a potentiometer in order to create a cool light readout.
Again, these guys are pretty expensive but they’re pretty cool. If your wee ones are into electronics they’ll love being able to mess with these kits and they are equally interesting as creative office toys. It’s a fun way to become acquainted with electronics from one of the most popular hardware startups in New York.
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