Experiment (website)

Experiment
Type of site
Crowdfunding
Available inEnglish
Headquarters
San Francisco
,
United States
URLexperiment.com
CommercialYes
Launched12 April 2012

Experiment, formerly called Microryza, is a US website for crowdfunding science-based research projects. Researchers can post their research projects to solicit pledges. Experiment works on the all-or-nothing funding model. The backers are only charged if the research projects reach their funding target during a set time frame. In February 2014, the site changed its name from Microryza to Experiment.com.

It was founded in 2012 by Denny Luan and Cindy Wu, former University of Washington students.[1] The former name Microryza is inspired by Mycorrhizae and symbiotic fungi that lives in the roots of plants.

Unlike the popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter, backers of Experiment projects do not get tangible rewards for backing. Researchers share the scientific process directly with the backers and become a part of the project.[2][3][4][5]

Experiment charges 11-13% in fees (8% for platform fees and 3-5% for payment processing) only if the campaign is successful. If the campaign does not reach the funding goal, no one is charged.[6]

As of Aug 26, 2014, they passed $1M raised on their platform.[citation needed]

As of Aug 7, 2015, more than 5,000 projects were launched and 336 of them were funded.[7]

As of Nov 20, 2019, more than 760 project were funded, raising nearly $8 million in pledges from more than 41,000 backers.[8]

  1. ^ "Science for the people: research funding revolutionized | Alumni". Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  2. ^ "Frustrated researchers unveil Microryza, a crowdfunding site for geeky science projects". GeekWire. April 13, 2012.
  3. ^ Ch, Pradeep; PDT, rasekaran on 04/12/2012 16:39. "Microryza: Crowd Funding for Scientific Research". Ubergizmo.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Microryza brings crowd-funding to scientific research". New Atlas. April 13, 2012.
  5. ^ Chapman, Lizette (February 5, 2014). "Experiment.com Gains Big Venture Backers To Bring Crowdfunding To Science Research".
  6. ^ "Crowdfunding for Science | Frequently Asked Questions". Experiment - Moving Science Forward.
  7. ^ Woman raised $1.2 million with a spirited 3-minute speech, The New York Times, Aug 7, 2015
  8. ^ The Best Platforms for Crowdfunding Science Research, Nov 20, 2019