Kickstarter has been described as the Home Shopping Network for geeks—picture an online version of the Sharper Image catalog and an investment platform for tech startups having a baby. But this is the wrong way to think about Kickstarter, because the site’s founders have actually shied away from tech to take Kickstarter back to its roots: a fundraising platform for all forms of creativity, but mostly in the arts.
A site synonymous with smart watches is now rejecting them
The evidence is everywhere, both on the site and in founders’ public statements. Case in point: the most-funded Kickstarter project ever is the Pebble smart watch, which raised more than $10 million. It touched off a revolution in thinking about wearable computing; Apple, Samsung and Google are all building their own smart watches.
Beta. Initial Form 1-A only. Target raise is the stated Amount to be Raised, totaled. Compared with the same dates one year earlier.
YTD: Jan 1, 2026 - Oct 24, 2026 vs Jan 1, 2025 - Oct 24, 2025
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Number of Filings131Prior 126 +4.0%
Target Raise, Total$3.40BPrior $3.54B -3.9%
This YTD
Year prior
Change
Filings
131
126
+4.0%
Target raise
$3.40B
$3.54B
-3.9%
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the leading digital news service covering the global Fintech Industry, including digital assets, crowdfunding, tokenization, and other innovations in capital markets. email us@CrowdfundInside
This display counts initial Form 1-A filings only. It does not represent subsequent filings, including Form 1-A/A amendments or Form 1-A POS post-qualification updates filed by the issuer. Amounts are the stated Amount to be Raised on the initial filing, not capital raised and not amounts revised in later filings.
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Kickstarter has been described as the Home Shopping Network for geeks—picture an online version of the Sharper Image catalog and an investment platform for tech startups having a baby. But this is the wrong way to think about Kickstarter, because the site’s founders have actually shied away from tech to take Kickstarter back to its roots: a fundraising platform for all forms of creativity, but mostly in the arts.
