Teen whiz kid earns Intel funding with low-cost Lego braille printer

In Silicon Valley, it’s never too early to become an entrepreneur. Just ask 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee. The California eighth-grader has launched a company to develop low-cost machines to print Braille, the tactile writing system for the visually impaired. Tech giant Intel Corp. recently invested in his startup, Braigo Labs. Shubham built a Braille printer with a Lego robotics kit as a school science fair project last year after he asked his parents a simple question: how do blind people read? After a bit of online research, Shubham was shocked to learn Braille printers, also called embossers, cost at least US$2,000 (£1,300) – too pricey for most blind readers, especially in developing countries.

He’s solving a real problem, and he wants to go off and disrupt an existing industry. And that’s really what it’s all about.

Edward Ross, director of Inventor Platforms at Intel

Shubham wants to develop a desktop Braille printer that costs around $350 (£230) and weighs just a few kilograms, compared with current models that can weigh more than 9kg. Shubham started Braigo Labs last summer with an initial $35,000 (£23,000) investment from his dad. The new model, Braigo 2.0, can translate electronic text into Braille before printing. Intel executives were so impressed with his printer that in November they invested an undisclosed sum in his startup. Intel officials believe he’s the youngest entrepreneur to receive venture capital.

I love the fact that a young person is thinking about a community that is often not thought about.

Lisamaria Martinez, community services director at the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind

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