Kickstarter hops across the pond with U.K. launch
Once a platform where only U.S. residents could propose projects, Kickstarter will soon allow Brits to innovate and create.
Kickstarter announced today that millions more people will soon be allowed to launch projects through its crowd-source funding platform.
The company broadcast the news via Twitter saying, "People in the UK will be able to launch projects on Kickstarter starting this autumn! More info soon!"
So far, only people in the U.S. can create projects and solicit funding on Kickstarter. The reason for this, according to The Verge, which first reported this news, is that the U.S. was the only place where Amazon Payments was offered -- the platform Kickstarter uses. However, as of March 2011, the payment service also became available in the U.K., which means that Kickstarter can also expand to Britain.
Since it launched in 2009, Kickstarter has hosted nearly 63,000 projects and raised more than $276 million. Forty-four percent of the projects on the site successfully get funding. In February, two Kickstarter projects exceeded $1 million for the first time ever and both happened in the same day.
Currently the site's popular projects include the spaceship management game "Star Command," a device that allows users to increase the available memory in their MacBooks called "The Nifty MiniDrive," and a book about a techie guy who meets a girl who refuses to own a cell phone called "These Days: A Novel."
CNET contacted Kickstarter for comment about its expansion into the U.K. We'll update the story when we get more information.