Skully – the startup behind the $1,500 augmented reality motorcycle helmet – has filed for bankruptcy, as hopes of compensation for angry backers diminishes.
The makers of the augmented reality motorcycle helmet confirmed that the crowdfunding dream was over after sending emails out to customers to break the bad news.
Read this: The crowdfunding bubble has well and truly burst
TechCrunch recently reported that the startup had ceased operations and the Skully website would be shut down imminently. Its CEO and founder Marcus Weller walked out 10 days ago and it's believed that Skully will be filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means it's unlikely that any of the original 3,000 backers/pre-orderers will get devices or refunds.
There was slim hope that the smart helmet would still surface with the team hoping to raise enough money to pay its manufacturer Flextronics and actually ship its first product. It was also hoping to secure a deal with Chinese company LeSports for a takeover.
Skully raised $2.4 million in its Indiegogo campaign, making it then the most successful wearable tech project on the platform. Designed to give you eyes in the back of your head, Skully was backed at the end of 2014 and even as late as November 2015, we wrote that they were then expected to ship in time for Christmas. They didn't. Two weeks ago, backers were told everyone would get their units by September 2016.
With big crowdfunding campaigns, production and investment hiccups are something we've seen time and time again as campaigns go months, and as here, even years over schedule.
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