( CNN ) -- The crowdfunding model , in which entrepreneurs seek online pledges to finance their pet projects , appears to be alive and well . Kickstarter , the platform that has helped launch the Pebble smartwatch , the Oculus Rift gaming headset and the upcoming `` Veronica Mars '' movie , said it surpassed $ 1 billion in pledges on Monday . Although Kickstarter has been around for almost five years , it said more than half of the money was pledged in the past 12 months . `` $ 1 billion means that people care about new ideas , '' said the company in a special page announcing the milestone . The money helped bankroll 57,000 creative projects , from films and comic books to tech gadgets and video games . Pledges came from 5.7 million people in 224 countries , most commonly the United States ( $ 663 million ) , the UK ( $ 54 million ) and Canada ( $ 45 million ) . That 's a far cry from Kickstarter 's first day -- April 28 , 2009 -- when a grand total of 40 people pledged $ 1,084 to seven projects . Kickstarter 's top 50 projects : When they shipped . The site requires project creators to choose a deadline and a target funding goal , with financial backers typically receiving preferential access to their product . Kickstarter takes 5 % of all successfully funded projects . Investors are only charged if the project reaches its stated goal within the alloted time for fundraising -- otherwise no money changes hands . If you 're wondering , Wednesday is the day of the week when backers have pledged the most money , while pledges usually drop off on weekends . Kickstarter is part of a growing number of crowdfunding sites that include Indiegogo , RocketHub and Crowdrise . Last month Kickstarter urged users to change their passwords after revealing it had been hacked .
Google says it surpassed $ 1 million in funding on Monday . The money helped bankroll 57,000 creative projects . The crowdfunding site launched in June .