popSLATE was a smartphone case that added an always-on second screen to the back of iPhones. The second screen, an E Ink display, provided quick access to frequently desired information — maps, news feeds, scan codes for tickets — without having to swipe and unlock the front of the phone. After raising $1.1 million via an Indiegogo campaign for its 2.0 version, one of the founders of popSLATE, Yashar Behzadi of Silicon Valley, pitched the business on Shark Tank in April 2016. He went into the Tank seeking a $500,000 investment in exchange for five percent equity. Alas, he did not receive an offer.
One year after the Shark Tank episode aired, in March 2017, popSLATE announced on Indiegogo that the company had “entered into the legal process for dissolution of the company” and could not refund the 12,000+ backers. In the final update on Indiegogo, popSLATE compared its financial struggle with big-name consumer hardware companies including GoPro, Fitbit, Pebble and Nest.
[Related: 27 Favorite ‘Shark Tank’ Products at Amazon — New List]
According to LinkedIn, Behzadi became CEO of Neuromation in April 2018. Neuromation “enables the development of better real-world AI models through synthetic data.” According to crunchbase, the company raised $50 million via Initial Coin Offering. New episodes of Shark Tank air Sundays at 9 pm on ABC.
