Indiegogo’s new crowdfunding record: $5.3M and counting for a smart beekeeping system

Less than a week after Kickstarter saw the new Pebble smartwatch smash its previous funding record to smithereens, fellow crowdfunding platform Indiegogo has an all-new record to boast about too.

With $5.3 million in the coffers so far and 27 days still remaining, the Flow Hive campaign has now passed the previous record-holder — Hour of Code — which had received some big-name donations from the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg to help increase uptake of computer science in schools.

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Flow Hive is being developed by an Australia-based father-and-son team to help revolutionize beehives — it lets beekeepers harvest honey without having to open the hive and pester the bees. You can see it in action for yourself here:

Though it has a long way to go to beat Kickstarter’s current $17 million record — a figure that will likely rise even higher over the next few weeks with the Pebble watch campaign still active — we’re really starting to see some big bucks flying around in the crowdfunding realm. Here’s the full top 10 list of most-funded campaigns in Indiegogo history:

1. Flow Hive
2. Hour of Code
3. Sondors Electric Bike
4. Axent Wear Cat Ear Headphones
5. Stone Brewing Co.
6. Lazer Team by Rooster Teeth movie
7. Skully smart motorcycle helmet
8. Jibo family robot
9. Gosnell movie
10. Solar Roadways