Blackdot

Status: active as of 2026-09-09

Also known as: Blackdot, Inc., Blackdot Tattoo

Blackdot is operating as of 2026-09-09; Joel Pennington left Shark Tank without an investment, while current company pages and 2026 USPTO patent activity show continued operations under/around Blackdot, Inc.

Shark Tank appearance

Season 16, episode 14

Air date: 2025-03-21
Appearance source: Blackdot Shark Tank clip — Sony Pictures Television pitch
Episode guide: Authoritative episode guide
Pitch: An automated tattooing platform and Austin tattoo studio.
Ask: $1.5 million for 5% equity
Offer: No Shark made an accepted investment offer; all Sharks ultimately passed.
Deal closed?: No

Dated timeline

Date	Event	Evidence
2019-01	Blackdot’s current investor page says the company was incorporated as a Delaware C-Corp.	BD05
2023-09-14	Dated terms identified Blackdot, Inc. as the contracting party.	BD07
2025-03-21	ABC broadcast Blackdot in season 16 episode 14.	BD01
2025-03-21	Joel Pennington asked $1.5 million for 5%; the Sharks passed and he left without a deal.	BD03
2026-02-03	USPTO published patent US 12,539,407 B2 assigned/filed by Blackdot, Inc., Austin, Texas.	BD08
2026-05-08	Blackdot posted replacement/current terms for its Austin studio and marketplace, but the page no longer names Blackdot, Inc. as the contracting entity.	BD06, BD07
2026-09-09	Current site offers robotic tattoo bookings/design marketplace services.	BD04

Legal and entity identity

Legal entities: Blackdot, Inc.
Aliases: Blackdot, Inc., Blackdot Tattoo
Successor/acquirer: None verified

Delaware

Blackdot, Inc. · unresolved

Limitation: 2023 official terms and 2026 USPTO patent identify Blackdot, Inc.; current investor page says Delaware C-Corp. Delaware registry name search is interactive and status may require paid status lookup; file number/status remain unresolved.

Blackdot — Delaware Division of Corporations official registry · accessed 2026-09-09

Notable findings and disputes

strong corroboration Blackdot is operating as of 2026-09-09; Joel Pennington left Shark Tank without an investment, while current company pages and 2026 USPTO patent activity show continued operations under/around Blackdot, Inc. [ BD04, BD08 ]
verified fact The ABC S16E14 page body correctly lists Blackdot, but its introductory synopsis describes unrelated businesses. Treat roster/body and broadcast date as authoritative for this appearance and preserve the synopsis mismatch as a page-quality conflict. [ BD01 ]
verified fact A later verified Shark Tank Global video labels the Blackdot material “Season 16 Episode 2,” while ABC’s broadcast roster is S16E14. This is a numbering/metadata conflict, not evidence of a second televised pitch. [ BD01, BD10 ]
verified fact Blackdot’s dated 2023 terms expressly named Blackdot, Inc.; current May 2026 terms omit the legal suffix/entity name. The change is observable, but no evidence establishes why it changed or whether ownership changed. [ BD06, BD07 ]

What we could not verify

Delaware file number and current corporate status for Blackdot, Inc.
Whether the May 2026 terms’ omission of “Inc.” reflects drafting simplification, a legal-operator change, or another restructuring.
Any closed 2025/2026 crowdfunding securities instrument; public company promotion exists, but no SEC Form C matching this entity was located in this pass.
Wayback snapshots of pre- and post-Shark pages; archive search returned no indexed results in this environment.

Full research sources

BD01 — Blackdot — ABC official episode roster ABC official episode roster published 2025-03-21 accessed 2026-09-09
Blackdot is in broadcast season 16 episode 14, aired 2025-03-21. ABC page body lists the company despite an unrelated/mismatched introductory synopsis.
BD02 — Blackdot — Sony Pictures Television official video carried from project ledger Sony Pictures Television official video carried from project ledger accessed 2026-09-09
Official video provenance from prior manifest.
BD03 — Blackdot — episode recap episode recap published 2025 accessed 2026-09-09
Joel Pennington asked $1.5M for 5%; all Sharks passed; no deal.
BD04 — Blackdot — current official company site current official company site accessed 2026-09-09
Blackdot currently markets and books robotic tattoo services.
BD05 — Blackdot — current official company investor page current official company investor page accessed 2026-09-09
Company timeline says Blackdot was incorporated as a Delaware C-Corp in Jan. 2019; current fundraising/investor-facing operation.
BD06 — Blackdot — current official legal page current official legal page published 2026-05-08 accessed 2026-09-09
Current service terms; Austin studio; terms refer only to “Blackdot,” not Blackdot, Inc.
BD07 — Blackdot — dated official legal PDF dated official legal PDF published 2023-09-14 accessed 2026-09-09
Earlier terms expressly identify Blackdot, Inc. as contracting entity, establishing observable legal-text change from current terms.
BD08 — Blackdot — USPTO Official Gazette USPTO Official Gazette published 2026-02-03 accessed 2026-09-09
Patent US 12,539,407 B2 assigned/filed by Blackdot, Inc., Austin, Texas; continuity of Blackdot, Inc. legal identity and IP activity.
BD09 — Blackdot — Delaware Division of Corporations official registry Delaware Division of Corporations official registry accessed 2026-09-09
Official name-search portal located; automated result submission not completed, so Blackdot, Inc. file number and current state status remain unresolved.
BD10 — Blackdot — verified Shark Tank Global video verified Shark Tank Global video published 2025-10-21 accessed 2026-09-09
Later official-family video description gives ask $1.5M for 5% but labels source as Season 16 Episode 2; conflicts with ABC broadcast episode 14 and is treated as production/metadata numbering, not broadcast roster authority.

Status-Verification Sources

Blackdot — current official company site (blackdot.tattoo)
Blackdot currently markets and books robotic tattoo services.
Blackdot — USPTO Official Gazette (patentsgazette.uspto.gov) 2026-02-03
Patent US 12,539,407 B2 assigned/filed by Blackdot, Inc., Austin, Texas; continuity of Blackdot, Inc. legal identity and IP activity.
Blackdot — ABC official episode roster (abc.com) 2025-03-21
Blackdot is in broadcast season 16 episode 14, aired 2025-03-21. ABC page body lists the company despite an unrelated/mismatched introductory synopsis.