Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Sphero CEO: BB-8 Robot Sold Out In One Hour

Paul Berberian, the CEO of Boulder-based Sphero, says that Sphero's BB-8 Star Wars robot sold out, worldwide, within an hour of launch, due to unprecedented demand for what he says may be "Disney's most popular Star Wars toy, ever." Berberian--speaking at the Disney Accelerator Demo Day in Burbank, California on Wednesday--said that, due to the link with Disney and Star Wars, Sphero had seen a more than 500 times increase in its sales volume for its robots. The company had connected with Disney as a result of its participation in Disney's startup accelerator, which is run for Disney by Boulder's Techstars. The company's robot balls were noticed by Disney's Bob Iger, who became a mentor for the company.