Kleiner Perkins "doubles down" on investment for iPhone
updated 03:15 pm EDT, Wed March 31, 2010
Investment group ups iFund to $200 million
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has announced plans to "double down" on its fund for iPhone and iPad apps. The venture capital firm has set aside $200 million to back App Store projects for Apple's entire range of mobile devices, up from the initial $100 million dedicated to the iFund in 2008.
KPCB has gathered 14 companies which participate in the iFund program. The various companies are also said to be supported b an additional $330 million from follow-on investors.
The collective group is currently working on 20 different applications for the iPad, with 11 titles expected to be available at launch on April 3rd. The first lineup includes ngmoco games We Rule, GodFinger and WarpGate, along with Doodle Buddy and Star Smash from Pinger, textPlus from GOGII, and Shazam from Shazam Entertainment.
"Kleiner Perkins has done a terrific job at finding, funding and supporting great iPhone app developers," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "We are thrilled that they are doubling the size of their fund, along with expanding it to now include iPad developers too."
