Pinoccio works to commercialize micro-controller tech

Pinoccio is looking to raise some seed capital in a new way, crowd funding. The Ann Arbor-based start-up has launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $60,000 to produce its new microcontroller technology and the company is nearly halfway there.

"We're in a state now where we feel good about reproducing them," says Sally Carson, co-founder of Pinoccio. "We just need the funding to do that."

Pinoccio is developing a wireless, web-ready microcontroller with WiFi, LiPo battery and built-in radio. This technology allows users to send commands to the microcontroller, about the size of your thumb, from their laptop using the Internet.

Carson and Eric Jennings began developing this technology about six months ago. They choose to base the company in Ann Arbor because Carson's husband is pursuing a PhD in biology at the University of Michigan. They hope to raise the $60,000 from the Indiegogo campaign by Valentines Day and have raised $25,000 as of Tuesday.

"I'd like to see this become a sustainable business," Carson says. "I am excited to see what people build with Pinoccio. It's exciting to build a tool and see what clever and smart people build with it."

Source: Sally Carson, co-founder of Pinoccio
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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