Pebble Time raises more than $20 million on Kickstarter

Pebble is one the few startups that knows how to get the most out of a Kickstarter campaign. Three years ago, it was the first on the crowdsourcing platform to raise more than $10 million in funding, and now it is the first to have broken the $20 million mark. Pebble's latest record is likely to last for a while, seeing as it took over two years for its first one to be broken.

At the time of writing this article, Pebble's Time campaign has attracted nearly 78,000 backers, who have pledged $20.16 million in total. The average contribution is $258.9, which exceeds the latest asking prices of $179 for Time and $250 for Time Steel.

Pebble estimates that it will deliver both versions of its latest smartwatch in June, which will retail for $199 and $299, respectively. Time Steel was introduced, shortly after the campaign started, in response to Apple Watch, which will soon go on sale with prices starting at $349.

A little over a month ago, Pebble's latest campaign had received $8.5 million in funding from nearly 40,000 backers. The $159 pledge -- the initial asking price for a Time unit -- was the first to run out. There are still a couple of spots left for the $250 pledge, which gives backers Time Steel with leather and metal straps. Pricier pledges, however, haven't been as popular.

Time packs a color display, which a first for a Pebble, has a microphone for voice control, promises at least 7 days of battery life (Time Steel raises the estimate to 10 days), and is compatible with 7,500 existing Pebble apps. It, of course, works with both Android and iOS, unlike Android Wear and Apple Watch which are, so far, limited to a single platform, Android and iOS, respectively.