VCs Show Us the Money: Funds for Apple iPhone/ iPad Development
If you’re a mobile apps developer wondering which of the multitude of device platforms you should develop for, the fact that there’s suddenly a plethora of funds for iPhone and iPad might help you decide. It’s not surprise, given that there are predictions of 7M units of iPad alone sold for 2010 (20M+ by 2012), and that schools like Seton Hill University giving full-time students an iPad this Fall. (George Fox University students get to choose between a MacBook and an iPad.) iPads in particular have an incredible potential in terms of personal computing, education, planning, healthcare, and more, despite the naysayers. According to Walt Mossberg of All Things Digital (WSJ), the iPad has the potential to be a laptop killer.
While it’s expected by many tech experts that iPad apps will sell at a higher price point, on average, than iPhone apps have, there’s already evidence that that may not be true. The problem is, if iPad apps sell in the same price range as iPhone apps have, there’s a possibility that many small mobile software startups simply won’t be able to afford the development costs without outside investment. It’s important for this ecosystem to have development funds. Here are a few such VC funds, targeted at iPhone and particularly iPad.
- AppFund — Offers from $5K for starting, and up to $500K for development, marketing, distribution. AppFund has specific interests in a variety of apps that target 16-39 year-olds “with higher incomes.” Meaning you probably want to develop apps that’ll warrant selling for more than $0.99. One of the hot areas for mobile apps is location-sharing (Foursquare, MyTown, Stuck, and many more), and AppFund does have an interest in this type of app. Read more about AppFund at EpochTimes.
- KPCB iFund — Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, aka KPCB, just doubled their iFund(tm) iPhone/ iPad development fund from $100M to $200M, days after announcing it. They’re already funding numerous mobile app developers (some of whom have web development projects), including Booyah, Cooliris, ng:moco, Shazam, Zynga Mobile, and more, for a total of fourteen startups. The apps these companies are producing are expected to pull in over $100M in revenues this year alone, and KPCB will be raising additional funds for them, from other sources unrelated to the iFund. Videos discussions and details of the iFund – which seem broader than AppFund’s — are worth a peek, as is the iFund FAQ. (The FAQ points out that they will invest outside the United States.) Interestingly, John Doerr, who sits on the Google board, is a partner.
- NFM – In the UK, Northern Film & Media is targeting iPad developers from mostly north-east England. Current funds are 40,000 British Pounds, though that may double.
- Vexiom vFund — Vexiom Equity Partners is targeting app development for the iPad and “other mobile tablet applications” (which might or might not mean non-Apple devices). Accortding to a press release, investments will range from $10K to $1M, dependent on app complexity and potential. Send proposals to Vexiom.
These are by no means the only funds available for iPhone and iPad development. If you know of more for Apple or other mobile platforms, such as Palm WebOS or Google Android, let us know. Have a mobile device, platform, application, service, accessory or related news you want to share? Email info/ press releases to callstyleblog at gmail.com.
[Other sources: MocoNews]