Endless Reinvents Computer; Targets Developing Countries
Recently, I came across a Kickstarter campaign for the Endless computer and it really got me excited. While I often back Kickstarter campaigns, this was the first time I did so just to get in touch with the founders so I could talk to them on my show!
Matt Dalio is the genius behind Endless. He explains the company mission this way, “Ask a person in the developed world whether people in emerging markets want computers, and their guess will often ‘why would they need it?’ Then ask someone in the developing world whether they want a computer and they will tell you ‘of course I want a computer!’ People who can’t afford today’s computers want the same things we do, they just want it to be made for them. Currently, that’s not an option, and that’s where Endless comes in.”
“To have truly scalable impact, we need a scalable business model. The sort of scale that one can achieve is much harder as a non-profit. To use a crude measure of impact, to raise a million dollars as a non-profit is hard and to raise a hundred million dollars is virtually impossible,” he continues. “However, if one can generate a profitable return on investment, those resources are readily available. Most importantly, if people can buy the devices, you can reach a whole lot more people than if you have to donate them.”
Matt concludes, “While the market for technology in emerging markets is competitive, Endless has opted to work from a bottom up approach as opposed to the more common approach of trickle down technology. We built an operating system and a device that is designed specifically for our target market so they won’t have to adapt. While there are good desktop computers for the developed world, there is currently not a viable desktop solution for a user in an emerging market. Hence, the fact that 4.4 billion people can’t afford a computer. We hope to solve that.”
On Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 3:00 Eastern, Matt will join me for a live discussion about his remarkable new computer, the Kickstarter campaign and the team that is building it. Tune in here then to watch the interview live. Tweet questions in advance to @devindthorpe.
You can download an audio podcast here or subscribe via iTunes.
More about Endless:
Endless was founded in 2012 with a single mission: to provide access to affordable personal computers to people in the developing world. The flagship product is called Endless, a fully functional desktop computer and operating system designed for emerging markets. Just over two billion people have computers. Nearly five billion can’t afford one. With the plummeting cost of faster microprocessors, the next billion people will soon be able to afford high quality, powerful and affordable technology. This allows the opportunity to change lives at a scale never before possible. Education, health, livelihood: these are the things that digital access means to people in China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, and so many other parts of the globe. Endless’ mission is far from over; it is just getting started. We have offices in San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro and Guatemala with people on the ground in Jordan, the UAE, and India.

Matt Dalio, Endless
Matt’s Bio:
Matt Dalio is the CEO and Chief of Product of Endless Mobile, a company that is developing a platform to give computing to the next billion people in emerging markets. Endless is built upon the simple premise that smartphones have made computing affordable to the next swath of the world’s population. They are simply missing the software to make those devices truly powerful to their needs. Endless is developing a solution to that problem.
After living in China for a year as a child, at the age of 16 Matt founded the China Care Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to giving orphaned children a brighter future. China Care has raised over $15 million to provide surgery for over 1,200 special needs children, and has provided financial aid grants and foster placements to children in need. China Care also supports over 60 high school and college clubs where thousands of students have been able to run community service programs, fundraise, and volunteer at the China Care Children’s Home in Beijing, China. Matt was honored as one of Oprah Winfrey’s “People Changing the Lives of Children Around the World”, was one of Teen People’s “20 Teens Who Will Change the World”, and is the youngest recipient of the Fulbright Award for furthering peace and international understanding.
In founding China Care, Matt fell in love with the process of building organizations of consequence. After graduating from Harvard in 2006, Matt launched The Issue, an online media venture aimed at curating the best of the blogosphere. After merging The Issue into PBS’s world news program, Matt joined Harbor Point, one of the east coast’s largest urban renewal projects to revitalize the waterfront of Stamford, Connecticut. During his time there, Matt was involved in every aspect of the development including financing, leasing, construction, and marketing. Matt currently holds positions on the boards of both China Care Foundation and Half The Sky Foundation, is a Harvard ‘06 graduate, and is an adoring alumnus of the Stanford Graduate School of Business (’12).
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