Bluesmart

Bluesmart Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustrySmart Luggage
Founded2013; 12 years ago (2013)
FoundersTomi Pierucci, Diego Saez-Gil, Alejo Verlini
DefunctMay 1, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-05-01)
Headquarters
New York City, United States
Area served
Worldwide
Websitebluesmart.com

Bluesmart Inc. was a global travel technology company that developed and produced Internet of Things travel products. The brand launched a carry-on suitcase, the Bluesmart One, on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo in 2014.[1] The campaign raised US$2.2 million in contributions and became the highest crowdfunding project ever for a travel product at that time.[2]

On May 1, 2018, Bluesmart Inc. announced they would be shutting down operations, due to a ban by major US airlines on smart luggage with non-removable batteries.[3] The company's intellectual property was sold to Travelpro and the company's products will no longer be supported.[4]

History

Crowdfunding campaign

In October 2014, the company launched its first product on Indiegogo, asking for support of their campaign – offering pre-orders of their product as rewards.[5] The company met its goal in two hours and broke records in the Hardware category by pre-selling 10,000 units to 114 countries and collecting more than $2.2 million in contributions.[6] In November 2014, while their extended Indiegogo campaign was still ongoing, the company was selected by Silicon Valley–based startup accelerator Y Combinator to be part of its program for the Winter 2015 batch.[7]

Production of the first smart carry-on

After Bluesmart Inc.'s manufacturing prototype passed its first reliability tests in June 2015, they set up a Mass Production division and local team in China which quickly grew to 15 employees.[citation needed] Bluesmart Inc. began shipping what would be known as the Bluesmart One in August 2015.[8]

Products

In late 2015, the brand released Bluesmart One.[8]

In 2016, the brand released the premium Bluesmart Black Edition carry-on, which was more durable, and had an upgraded exterior anti-theft system. [citation needed]

In June 2017, Bluesmart Inc. introduced its Series 2 products including the Bluesmart Cabin, Check, Laptop Bag and Passport Pouch.[9]

Bluesmart Inc. was awarded the Red Dot Best of the Best Design Award category.[10]

See also

  • Airbus Bag2Go, a similar concept announced in 2013
  • Delsey, who have announced a similar product

References

  1. ^ Souppouris, Aaron (October 20, 2014). "Bluesmart wants to crowdfund the 'world's first' connected luggage". Engadget.
  2. ^ Vivion, Nick (December 17, 2014). "How Bluesmart became one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns ever". Phocuswire.
  3. ^ O'Kane, Sean (1 May 2018). "Bluesmart shuts down after airlines ban smart luggage". The Verge. Vox Media.
  4. ^ Heater, Brian (1 May 2018). "Bluesmart sells assets to Travelpro following smart luggage ban". TechCrunch.
  5. ^ "Self-Tracking Suitcase Passes $1M on Indiegogo". 17 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Bluesmart: World's First Smart, Connected Carry-On".
  7. ^ "YC-Backed Bluesmart Raises $2 Million for Its Self-Tracking Suitcase". 23 January 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Bluesmart: World's First Smart, Connected Carry-On". Indiegogo. November 20, 2015.
  9. ^ "Bluesmart Series 2: Smart Luggage System".
  10. ^ "Bluesmart Carry-on Suitcase - 2016 | work | Red Dot Award: Product Design". Archived from the original on 2017-10-15. Retrieved 2017-06-07.