Sevenhugs Reaches $1M In SmartRemote Pre-Orders

Sevenhugs, the technology startup, announced Wednesday (Dec. 14) it reached $1 million in SmartRemote pre-orders on Kickstarter.

Sevenhugs’ Smart Remote, which allows users to control any device by pointing at it, was named as one of the most innovative productd in the CES 2017 Smart Home category, it said in a press release.

“We’re excited and honored by the support of the Kickstarter community to help us reach our initial goal of $50K in record time and then quickly accelerate to over $1 million,” said Simon Tchedikian, Sevenhugs’ cofounder and CEO, in the press release. “For years, we’ve anticipated the digital home becoming a reality, but we also recognized that there would be an issue with the integration of multiple devices due to proprietary software. We knew we could build a solution to the fragmentation problem, but it also needed to be simple and user-friendly, coupled with easily connecting to any device. After two years of development, we achieved our vision with Smart Remote and are so excited to see such an impressive response from the market.”

The patent -pending point-and-control technology enables Smart Remote’s screen to work automatically with any device and works with more than 25,000 devices through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Infrared, including Samsung Smart TVs, Philips Hue and LIFX smart bulbs, Sonos speakers, and Nest Learning Thermostat, the company said. According to Sevenhugs, the technology is based on an open API and extensive SDK to support expansion of SmartRemote’s features and services by developers.

Sevenhugs isn’t the only startup to enjoy successes going the Kickstarter route to raise funding. In recent months, Kickstarter and other sites have been finding traction and helping fund projects still in nascent stages that escape the traditional purview of venture capital. That roster includes creative endeavors across music and film, while tech, at least in the U.S., makes up only about 3.7 percent of all projects.