Mycroft said it could not fulfill the remaining rewards from its Mark II Kickstarter after running out of funds for meaningful operations. The campaign raised $394,572 from 2,245 backers in 2018, but the funding total did not guarantee that every promised device would be delivered.
What happened to the Mycroft Mark II Kickstarter?
Mycroft’s Mark II campaign ran on Kickstarter from January 25 to February 24, 2018. It raised $394,572 from 2,245 backers against a $50,000 goal, according to the campaign page.
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A later update titled “The End of the Campaign” appeared on the Kickstarter page, whose last-update record is February 10, 2023. Contemporaneous coverage by Hackster reports that CEO Michael Lewis said Mycroft would not fulfill remaining campaign rewards because it lacked the funds to continue meaningful operations.
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According to Hackster’s account of Lewis’s statement, the company did not have the funds to continue fulfilling rewards from the crowdfunding campaign. That is the reported outcome for outstanding rewards; the available sources do not establish how many backers were still waiting, how many rewards went undelivered, or the total losses to backers.
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Lewis separately said at the time, “We will still be shipping all orders that are made through the Mycroft website.” Hackster reported that those retail orders were still shipping then because they covered production and shipping costs. Retail orders and Kickstarter rewards were therefore separate fulfillment channels. That historical statement does not confirm that website sales or shipping remain available now.
Why did Mycroft say it could not fulfill the rewards?
Hackster attributed the following cost explanation to Lewis. These are the CEO’s reported figures, not independently audited accounts:
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- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
- Components for the revised Mark II design were initially estimated at about $99 per device.
- Lewis said supply-chain disruption increased costs by around 50 percent.
- He put the final manufacturing and import cost at roughly $300 per device, before accounting for about $100,000 in injection molds.
- He described ongoing litigation with an unnamed patent holder as the company’s most expensive unanticipated expense.
The hardware also changed during the project. Hackster reported that the original design was shelved after the initial hardware partner could not deliver and component costs rose; the replacement used off-the-shelf components and differed substantially from the original concept. Hackster cited $499 as the device’s retail price at the time of its report. That historical price is not evidence of a current offer or price.
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No. Mycroft’s status page reported “All services are online” and listed the Core API as “Operational” on September 29, 2026. That status describes the listed service, not the company’s finances, current hardware sales, or fulfillment of Kickstarter rewards. The present retail availability of the Mark II is unverified.
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Rank #3
- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
What can backers check now?
- Review the Kickstarter campaign page and its updates. Confirm your pledge, reward tier, and any messages or delivery information tied to your account.
- Save your transaction records. Keep the Kickstarter receipt, campaign updates, and any relevant correspondence together in case you need to explain the timeline of your pledge.
- Distinguish an undelivered reward from a retail order. The company’s reported statement about shipping website orders at the time did not promise fulfillment of remaining Kickstarter rewards.
- Do not treat service availability as a delivery commitment. A working API or status page does not establish that a physical device will be shipped or that a refund is available.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
