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Ubuntu Edge campaign picks up an enterprise backer in Bloomberg

As Ubuntu's crowdfunding campaign barely reaches over a quarter of its funding goal, the fund finally sells an enterprise perk.
Written by Chris Duckett, Contributor

The Ubuntu Edge crowdfuning campaign looks set to fail, but that hasn't stopped Bloomberg from jumping onto the fund and becoming the first "Enterprise 100" backer.

For US$80,000, the company will receive 100 Ubuntu Edge smartphones, 30 days of online support, and access to "best-practice workshops".

"Bloomberg supports open innovation and initiatives, such as Ubuntu Edge, that align with our software development and business priorities," said Shawn Edwards, Bloomberg chief technology officer in a funding update.

"With this investment, Bloomberg developers will contribute to an open technology initiative that could benefit our clients and have a powerful impact on the future of mobile computing."

The fund to create a smartphone that dual boots into Android, Ubuntu Phone OS, and Ubuntu desktop raised US$2 million in its first eight hours, but has, in the last couple of weeks, only raised a further US$6.4 million.

The final funding target for the device is US$32 million. If that amount is not raised, the project will not proceed.

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