MyBit Brings Peer-to-Peer Lending to Machine Economy

Small to mid-size engineering organizations in need of a large asset—think high-end 3D printer or some piece of robotics machinery—don’t always have the cash on hand or the credit to cover expensive capital investments. Instead of putting a project on hold, a new startup, MyBit.io, is touting a peer-to-peer platform that employs crowdfunding techniques and internet of things (IoT) connectivity to drum up financing.

The platform uses Ethereum smart contracts and Blockchain tokenization technology to connect investors around the world and facilitate financing contracts. The idea is to eliminate financial barriers faced by entrepreneurs and engineers by providing access to untapped capital and ensuring the proper trust and security conventions to support the exchange. By enabling these kinds of transactions, MyBit.io envisions an opportunity for small engineering shops to connect with potential investors anywhere in the world to transform their ideas into real products.

“An engineer might have a great idea, a great business plan, and a great market opportunity, but they don’t have the capital to go out and purchase what they need,” explains Tom Pollan, MyBit.io COO. “We help them take their dream, put together a business case, figure out the ROI, and connect them with experts. It eliminates the CapEx experience for the entrepreneur while opening up investment opportunities for the 99% who want to invest in the machine economy.”

IoT is central to the MyBit.io proposition as a way for investors to make additional revenue based on how the asset they help fund is used.  Say the company has a 3D printer as part of its offering as an on-demand manufacturing resource. The 3D printer usage would be metered and the investors would make additional revenue, based on the contract terms, based on that service revenue. A similar monetization relationship could be established using the MyBit.io platform for drones, self-driving vehicles, and automated machining like farming or large-scale construction equipment. “Any asset you can purchase that can generate revenue could be a viable candidate for our platform,” Pollan says.