INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Nodle, which is competing in the TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin Startup Battlefield this week, is based on a simple premise: What if you could
crowdsource the connectivity of smart sensors by offloading it to smartphones? For most sensors, built-in cell connectivity is simply not a
realistic option, given how much power it would take
To solve this, the company, which was co-founded by Micha Benoliel (CEO) and Garrett Kinsman, is looking to cryptocurrency
With Nodle Cash, users automatically earn currency whenever their phones transmit a package to the network
seed funding, mostly from investors in the blockchain space: Blockchange, Work Play Ventures (Marc Pincus), Blockchain Ventures
He also co-founded the mesh networking startup Open Garden, which used a somewhat similar approach a few years ago to crowdsource
connectivity (and which made a bit of a splash with its FireChat offline chat app back in 2014)
Open Garden, too, competed in our Startup Battlefield in 2012 and won our award for most innovative startup
the company to succeed: Chipsets are getting smaller, and an increasing number of sensors now uses Bluetooth Low Energy, all while batteries
are getting smaller and more efficient and blockchain technology is maturing.Given the fact that these sensors depend on somebody with a
phone coming by, this is obviously not a solution for companies that need to get real-time data
But the company argues it is a great solution for smart cities that want to get regular readouts of road usage or companies that want to do
team is also betting on working with app developers who may want to use the platform to make some extra money from their apps by adding it
service.[gallery ids="1922759,1922749,1922756"]The team expects a normal user to see an extra 20 to 30 MB of traffic with Nodle installed,
Some app developers may use Nodle as an alternative to in-app payments, the team hopes.The company is also already working with HTC and
Cisco Meraki, and has a number of pilot projects in the works.If you want to give it a try, you can install the Nodle Cash app for Android
