Pirate3D raises $1.

85m
on KckstarLer.com

3.500 units Pre-ordered through

(i.krtutt.r, the firm is alreadY

Crowd-funding drive
over, start-uP turns
to manufacturing
of its 3-D Printer

looking to exPand'

"Wi't. hunting for

new of-

fice space and will be hiring addi-

tional engineers, Programmers'

and marketing Personnel to De

based in SingaPore and San Fran-

cisco," said co-founder Brendan

Hoe Pei Shan

Goh,26.
Pirate3D
its target
raise
to
minutes
iust 10
,jt uss too,ooo (s$ 1 29,ooo)'
BY the time its 30-daY tto*qfunding camPaign on KickstartLi..o-"*us over-last Saturday' -it
h;d attracted US$1,438,7 65

The other two co-founders

Mr Tsang You Jun, 26, and

It took local start-uP

nrodY;;
iisr.ss million)is t9
what it claims the worlcl's

most affordable 3-D Printer'

This is believed to be the first
ti-. tttut a SingaPore firm has

broken the million-dollar marK

;;ih. popular American crowdfunding Platform, Kickstarter'

"lt ietls PrettY darn aw.esome," said Pirate3D co-tounoer

chang, 25, who set uP the

.ofilputtY with three others iust
11
- - months ago.
iW.'r. ulto quite relieved
that the fund-raising bit is done

i6*;;

are

National UniversitY of SingaPore

adfunct Professor Neo Kok Beng'
48.
ST PHOTO: NURIA LINC

and Mr

Neo' Mr Tsang' Mr Goh

The Pirate3D team (from left)-Prof
eu.i'un""il-O-irrinter. With it, people
th9
of
Chanq with their prototyp"
items from a spobl of plastic'

:;:i';'d;;;;;d'iii;ZJ"'vauv

because we had round-the-clock

tftitt for 30 daYs straight moni-

toring the camPaign'''.

The comPanY's chic-looking
brainchild is called the Buccaneer. It aims to bring 3-D Printing, which creates Plastic obiects
laier bv laYer, into homes'
--'Thi;

wiil allow PeoPle to

de-

sign and "Print" everYdaY items

such as kitchen utensils and toYs

from a sPool of Plastic'
Priced at US$347, the Buccaneer is much cheaPer than com-

oeting models such as the RePIi[ii"iz from MakerBot, which

costs US$z,199'

The first batch of 200 Bucca-

neers is slated for delivery in-De-

c.mbet, but with more than

In the next month, Pirate3D

will decide on a locallY basgd
manufacturer, which will be
uUf. t" Produce the Printer in fac-

tories across Asia'

The firm is also working on a
collaboration with Harvard UniversitY's Professor Calestous Juma, director of the college's -Sci-

....,

Technologl, and Globalisation Project, to donate 3-D Printers to "ielected African institu-

tions" next

Year'

ivj peishanhoe@gmail'com