A new development between IBM and Arrow Electronics lets IndieGoGo Developers use Watson’s cloud services and tools. IBM is slowly bringing Watson to the masses. (via IBM)
IBM’s Watson is best known for beating Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings in 2011 and lately, you may have seen its name pop up in H & R Block ads. Now, IBM is ready to share Watson with the masses. At the unveiling of the company’s $200 million Internet of Things headquarters in Munich, they also revealed a new partnership with Indiegogo and Arrow Electronics. How does this benefit you? Because of this new partnership, developers and entrepreneurs will now have access to IBM’s machine learning tools.
From now on any qualified Indiegogo project gets access to the Watson IoT Platform and cloud services for an unlimited time for free. Tools and services like AI, Blockchain, advanced analytics, and cyber security are all at your fingertips. To make the deal even sweeter, Indiegogo developers can speak with IBM’s network of experts, mentors, and business partners. Thanks to these services, developers won’t have to spend so much time and resources on security or other features they want to include, like facial recognition. Instead, they can focus on delivering a top-notch product or service.
However, it doesn’t end there. The new Watson partnership further expands Arrow’s Arrow Certified program, which offers Indiegogo projects up to $500,000 in benefits, like raw parts and materials to financial support. This helps developers make their ideas a reality much faster than they would on their own. Last year, Arrow even offered $1 million to certain campaigns it felt was fit for manufacturing. They didn’t ask for any sort of equity or repayment. In return, Arrow hopes it leads to loyalty and encourages new companies to continue doing business with them.
This is not only good news for Indiegogo developers but good news for the companies themselves. IBM has a big interest in the IoT. They’ve already invested a lot of time and money into newer technologies to help them get ahead. In 2014, they invested $3 billion over four years to develop IoT businesses. Last year, they acquired the Weather Company and switched its cloud services to their platform. According to IBM, this added “billions of IoT sensors” to its large data and communications network. Because of these new investments in IoT IBM’s revenue has gone up and is over 40 percent than it was in the last quarter.
IBM and Arrow have already worked with various projects and helped them come to life. Some of the most notable are the Fitly SmartPlate, a plate with built-in sensors that analyze and tracks what you eat and Playdate, a smart ball that allows you to play with your pet remotely.
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