SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old California boy received seed funding from Intel Capital for his invention of a low-cost braille printer, the prototype for which he made out of LEGO.
Shubham Banerjee, of Santa Clara, designed the braille printer for his middle school science fair after he discovered the devices sell for about $2,000.
"He was so surprised," Neil Banerjee, Shubham's father, told ABC News of his son's reaction to the price.
Intent on finding a cheaper way to make the device, Shubham made a prototype out of LEGO bricks and other materials from Home Depot for about $350. The machine spurred the development of Braigo Labs Inc., the name of which combines the words "braille" and "LEGO."
Earlier this month, Shubham became the youngest CEO of a company to receive funding from Intel Capital, which invested $62 million in companies that focus on product development, cloud-based technology and mobile technology.
Banerjee won't say how much funding Braigo Labs received, but said the braille printer the company creates should retail for less than $500.
"Intel Capital's investment will help open up opportunities for me to work with professionals and eventually bring the product to more than 50 million blind people worldwide," Shubham told BizJournals.com of the funding.
