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Sony Crowdfunding

Sony launches crowdfunding platform for internal projects

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By Tony Connelly, Sports Marketing Reporter

July 1, 2015 | 3 min read

Sony has launched a new crowdfunding platform called First Light designed to fund internal projects developed by its employees and promote new business ideas as it attempts to regain profitability.

First Light will allow Sony employees to work on projects which might not otherwise fit with the current focus of the business while giving public backers the opportunity to directly buy and pre-order new devices created through the project.

Currently only running in Japan, the initiative is part of Sony’s Seed Acceleration Program which aims to facilitate the kind of innovation that saw the company lead the way in the consumer electronics market in the 1980s.

Sony said in a press release that First Light will help promote new business concepts and bring them to market quickly if they prove to be popular enough. The venture will also give the Japanese electronics giant an indication for what early adopters want to buy without the company having to take a financial risk by fully committing to and developing a full retail-ready version.

Three projects are already on sale as a result of the crowdfunding campaign. The first is the FES E-Ink watch which has a fully customisable strap and minimalist design.

Another project which will see the light of day is the MESH wireless tag which can be used to control smart home functions. The final product currently available as a result of First Light is HUIS home remote control which can be customised using a PC to then replace any remote existing remote control.

Sony has suffered year-on-year loses over the past seven years, posting a $1.05bn loss in the financial year ending March 2015. This led to Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai announcing that Sony would no longer pursue business in areas such as smartphones where it’s has suffered competition from cheaper Asian rivals. Instead it would direct its focus on more profitable areas such as camera sensors, videogames and entertainment.

Sony Crowdfunding

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