PM David Cameron Meets ‘Kano,’ The DIY Computer That Raised $1.5M On Kickstarter

“Our tech partnership is the strongest of any in the world and we should capitalize on this.” Those are the words of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who is visiting Israel for the first time as PM.

And today he is being introduced, among others, to Kano, the groundbreaking DIY computer and coding kit for all ages that raised $1.5 million on Kickstarter last November. “As simple as Lego,” says Yonatan Raz-Fridman of Israel, who co-founded the venture along with Saul and Alex Klein.

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“It’s a toolbox for a new creative generation,” Fridman tells NoCamels. “Billions of people around the world do not have access to technology creation, but only to technology consumption. So we wanted to create a computer that anyone, anywhere can make themselves.”

Building the “Kano tribe”

After first building Kano out of an apartment in London, the team conducted workshops at different schools to see the engagement children had with the product. Kano allows anyone to build a computer and start programming almost instantly, assisted by the user-friendly guidebook that comes with Kano.

In November 2013, Kano became the most crowdfunded learning invention ever. Over 13,000 people from more than 50 countries raised $1.5 million in 30 days. Kano backers were so excited about the product, that they translated the guidebook into 40 languages.

“But we haven’t stopped there. We spent the past few months making the kit even better, creating the fastest and most fun microcomputer OS, hardware add-ons, and perfecting our plug-and-play design,” says Raz-Fridman.

Empowering a creative generation

The company says that although Kano can be enjoyed by people of all ages, the core target audience is ages 7-14. “We believe that to empower a new creative generation you need to start at the earliest age possible, and not with people already in university,” Raz-Fridman tells NoCamels.

Check out Kano’s Kickstarter video:
[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgCHUGt97To’]

Kano comes out in the summer of 2014 and can be pre-ordered for $99.

And we wouldn’t be surprised to see the UK’s Prime Minister return home with a couple Kanos for the Cameron household.