Last week, Scanadu Scout — a medical tricorder that tracks vital signs — raised $1,370,462, thus ending Matthew Inman’s (of The @Oatmeal) nearly year-long reign as Indiegogo’s top-funded campaign. When it ended on Saturday, the Scout had raised a whopping $1,664,574.

And then it was Monday.

At 8am PST, the Ubuntu Edge launched on Indiegogo to fund a next generation smartphone that doubles as a desktop computer. Things started happening fast — very fast.

First, it raised $135,483 in its first hour — an Indiegogo record. Receiving nearly 3.7 contributions per minute, Ubuntu hit $1 million in about four hours. It passed $2 million just after 4pm PST (in 8 hours), crossed through $3 million — 12 hours after launching — and hit $4 million in 45 hours.

As of this posting, the London-based campaign has raised $5,004,352 from 10,640 contributors in 50 countries. It could very well be on its way to being the largest crowdfunding campaign ever.

Top 20 Countries by Contribution:

1. United States 11. Italy 2. Germany 12. Austria 3. UK 13. Spain 4. Netherlands 14. Israel 5. Australia 15. Poland 6. Canada 16. Taiwan 7. Sweden 17. South Africa 8. France 18. New Zealand 9. Singapore 19. Mexico 10. Brazil 20. Chile

In a lot of ways, Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux software has lot in common with Indiegogo’s crowdfunding philosophy — as does its Ubuntu Edge smartphone. The software is free and open sourced, a global platform that transcends borders and languages, and the Edge will harness this same power to be a gamechanger in the smartphone and personal computing market.

“Ubuntu” comes from a Nguni Bantu word (and South African philosophy) that translates to “human kindness.” If you think about it, it takes a lot of ubuntu (and passion) to make a crowdfunding campaign succeed. So far, it looks like Ubuntu Edge has had a lionshare of it.

A big congratulations to the Ubuntu team and good luck as they push toward their goal!

Check out the Ubuntu Edge campaign and follow them on Twitter!