Quirky, the New York-based developer of crowd-sourced inventions and parent company of the Wink smart home platform, is filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure its debts, CNET.com reported yesterday. The news comes seven weeks after the departure of Quirky founder and CEO Ben Kaufman, who stepped down from his role at the head of the company at the start of August. Kaufman's exit followed a tumultuous year that included financial difficulties, key product flops, and a botched security update for the Wink Hub, the control device at the center of Wink's smart home platform. Kaufman was replaced with Quirky Chief Financial Officer Ed Kremer. Originally launched in 2009, Quirky made a name for itself by developing product ideas from an open pool of independent and amateur inventors, rewarding the community with profit shares.
