Squid Labs

Squid Labs was an independent research and development company founded by a group of four MIT graduates. In 2004, Colin Bulthaup, Dan Goldwater, Saul Griffith, and Eric Wilhelm moved from the East Coast to California to found the company known as Squid Labs. During its years of existence from 2004 to 2007, Squid Labs added three more members to its team: Geo Homsy, Corwin Hardham and Ryan McKinley. Working out of a warehouse in Emeryville, the group adopted the slogan "We're not a think tank, we're a do tank." and created a handful of patents and inventions including an electronically sensed rope, portable pull-cord generators, and a machine that could manufacture eyeglasses of any prescriptions at extremely low cost. Squid Labs was also the birthplace for many companies still running today, such as Makani Power and Howtoons. Although the company no longer exists, Squid Lab's co-founder, Saul Griffith created a similar company in San Francisco named Otherlab.

Squid Labs had many breakthrough and award-winning projects that influenced their respective industries. These inventions include:

Products and designs started at Squid Labs evolved into companies that are run by former Squid Lab members and contributors. These companies include:

Howtoons- Howtoons is a book that turned into a website of cartoon comics. These comics show kids how to build their own toys and conduct experiments from household items. The purpose of Howtoons is to inspire kids to be creative and explore their world. Saul Griffith is one of Howtoons inventors and primary contributors.

Instructables- Instructables is website where members collaborate with each other and share DIY projects. The format is similar to YouTube, but focused more on projects that "the average person could do." Eric Wilhelm of Squid Labs is now the CEO of Instructables.

Makani Power- "Makani Power is a company that develops airborne wind turbines to harness high-altitude wind energy." Today, Makani Power is run by Squid Lab's Corwin Hardham.

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