One obstacle to IoT growth: companies and start-ups with innovative ideas lack the resources and skills to develop these IoT innovations and bring them to market. Through a partnership, IBM, Indiegogo and Arrow aim to remove barriers and provide the expertise, resources and funding entrepreneurs need to develop innovative, connected products. The combination of IBM's cognitive capabilities with Indiegogo's entrepreneur platform and Arrow's expertise in end-to-end technology development and production is expected to rapidly increase the number and quality of IoT devices on the market.

Access to more than 160 cloud services

Indiegogo is a crowdfunding platform that has already raised more than 1.1 billion US dollars. There, entrepreneurs can present their ideas directly to end users, receive orders for products at the beginning of their life cycle and thus establish direct business relationships with their first customers.

Certified companies on Indiegogo will receive unlimited free access to IBM's Watson IoT platform through the Bluemix partnership, giving them access to more than 160 cloud services to integrate ready-to-use functionalities such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, advanced data analytics and cyber security into their IoT inventions. In addition, certified startups gain access to IBM's international network, which provides technical and industry expertise, training and mentoring opportunities, and connections to enterprise customers and business partners. "We know that fundraising is only one piece of the entrepreneurial puzzle, but by partnering with IBM and Arrow, we're making it easier for companies to take their ideas from concept to launch," commented David Mandelbrot, CEO of Indiegogo.

In addition to the benefits provided by IBM, Arrow will provide up to $500,000 worth of in-kind services for certified campaigns on Indiegogo, such as components, online product design and prototyping tools, extensive technical reviews by Arrow engineers, manufacturing and supply chain services, and sustainable recycling.