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Middle schooler started with Legos and built acompany

Shubham Banerjee assembles the Braille printer he built out of Legos in his San Jose, California, home, Nov. 1, 2014. The 13-year-old iscreating a sensation in the venture capital world after he built the Braille printer. He has received a round of venture funding and with hisparents has launched a startup to create an affordable Braille printer. Patrick Tehan/Bay Area News Group/MCT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Last December, seventh-

grader Shubham Banerjee asked his parents how

blind people read.

His dad told him to “Google it.”

So Shubham did. With a few Internet searches he

learned about Braille, the writing system used by the

blind. Braille is printed with raised dots on paper,

which blind people can read with their fingers. He

also learned about Braille printers, which, to the

middle schooler’s shock, cost thousands of dollars.

Let's See What We Can Build

By San Jose Mercury News, adapted by Newsela staff on 11.10.14Word Count 779Level 930L

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Using pieces from a Lego set, Shubham created a cheap Braille printer for his school science fair.

Today, Shubham is the founder of a company, Braigo Labs. It aims to be the first manufacturer of

low-cost, portable Braille printers.

“It was curiosity,” explained Shubham, now 13 and an eighth-grader at Champion School in San

Jose, California. “I’m always thinking up something. If you think it can be done, then it can

probably be done.”

Because of his printer, Shubham has been invited to the White House and received many awards.

He has become the world’s youngest owner of a tech startup company to receive venture capital

funding. It is money given to new technology companies to get them started.

The money came from Intel, one of the worlds largest makers of computer chips. On Tuesday it

announced that it was investing in Shubham's company.

A Growing Family Business

Braigo has become a family business. His mom, Malini Banerjee, is the president. His dad, Neil

Banerjee, who works for Intel, is on the company's board of directors. He also drives Shubham

around and accompanies him to press events, interviews and business meetings.

The money from Intel will allow Braigo to hire engineers and product designers, so that Shubham

can concentrate on school.

Intel will not say how much money it is giving Shubham's company.

“It’s a classic Silicon Valley story, isn’t it?” said Neil Banerjee. Silicon Valley is a nickname for an

area in Northern California where many high-tech companies like Apple and Google are located.

“Everyone else started in a garage, but (Shubham) started at the kitchen table.”

The money from Intel also earns Shubham a place in history. He broke the record for the world's

youngest tech company owner to receive venture capital. He is two years younger than Nick

D’Aloisio was when D'Aloisio received money for his startup Summly. Yahoo reportedly later

bought Summly, a news reading app, for $30 million.

Now More People Can Afford A Printer

Organizations for the blind welcome an affordable Braille printer. They say the printer could make

literature and news more available to blind people. It would also increase the number of people

who can read Braille. Only about 8.5 percent of the 60,000 blind schoolchildren in the country can

read Braille, according to the American Printing House for the Blind.

“There is absolutely a need,” said Gary Mudd, a spokesman for the Printing House for the Blind.

“Being blind is sometimes very expensive.”

Braille printers start at about $2,000 for a person. They cost at least $10,000 for schools and

businesses. Braigo plans to sell its printer for around $350.

“We had no idea that someone could reinvent a Braille printer and bring the cost down” by so

much, said Mike Bell, who runs Intel's New Devices Group. Bell said that Shubham's printer could

really help a lot of people.”

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The Experience Of Creating

Possibly the biggest challenge facing Braigo is whether it can get enough customers. The National

Federation of the Blind estimates that fewer than 10 percent of blind people can read Braille. Some

experts say the demand for Braille printers will drop as more advanced technology is available.

Already, smartphones are equipped with electronic Braille screens and apps that can read text out

loud.

“The number of potential sales are quite limited because there aren’t that many people who read

Braille,” said Ike Presley. He is with the American Foundation for the Blind. Presley said he

doesn't know if people will really need many hard copies of written material in Braille in five or 10

years.

In five to 10 years, Shubham will be in college. There is no way of knowing whether or not his

company will survive. However, his parents will almost certainly treasure the experience of

creating it.

His mother tells how Shubham would stay up until 2 a.m. working on his invention. She would

urge him to give it up and go to bed.

“He would keep building and breaking things and I would get so discouraged, asking why is he

wasting his time?" she said.

But now she tells every mom, "Believe in your child.”

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Quiz

1 Select the sentence from the first three paragraphs that MOST LIKELY explains why Shubham decided to build a Braille printer.

(A) Last December, seventh-grader Shubham Banerjee asked his parents how blind people read.

(B) His dad told him to “Google it.”

(C) With a few Internet searches he learned about Braille, the writing system used by the blind.

(D) He also learned about Braille printers, which, to the middle schooler’s shock, cost thousands of dollars.

2 Select the sentence from the article that BEST describes the significance of Shubham's invention.

(A) Using pieces from a Lego set, Shubham created a cheap Braille printer for his school science fair.

(B) They say the printer could make literature and news more available to blind people.

(C) Because of his printer, Shubham has been invited to the White House and received many awards.

(D) “It’s a classic Silicon Valley story, isn’t it?” said Neil Banerjee.

3 Select the sentence that summarizes a key challenge faced by Shubham's company, Braigo Labs.

(A) Presley said he doesn't know if people will really need many hard copies of written material in Braille infive or 10 years.

(B) There is no way of knowing whether or not his company will survive.

(C) “We had no idea that someone could reinvent a Braille printer and bring the cost down” by so much,said Mike Bell, who runs Intel's New Devices Group

(D) She would urge him to give it up and go to bed.

4 Which of the following sentences accurately compares the sections "Now More People Can Afford A Printer" and "TheExperience of Creating"?

(A) The first section describes benefits. The second section describes challenges.

(B) The first section describes challenges. The second section describes benefits.

(C) The first section interprets events. The second section orders their importance.

(D) The first section orders events. The second section interprets them.