$150m BlackBerry Partners Fund goes against $100m Apple iFund

May 12 2008, 12:46am CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

RIM and Thomson Reuters today announced plans to launch the BlackBerry Partners Fund, a US$150 million venture capital fund, to invest in mobile applications and services for the BlackBerry platform and other mobile platforms. The Fund is to be co-managed by JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners.

Apple recently announced the iFund with $100m in capital to fund iPhone and iTouch applications. RIM's venture capital fund is clearly aiming to counter Apple's initiative.
The BlackBerry Partners Fund is apparently not restricted to investments of BlackBerry platform application and services. That would mean the fund could also invest in an iPhone application.

About the BlackBerry Partners Fund
The BlackBerry Partners Fund is a US$150 million venture capital fund being formed to focus on applications and services for the BlackBerry platform and other mobile platforms including mobile commerce (payments, advertising, retailing and banking), vertical and horizontal enterprise applications, communications, social networking, location-based applications and services (navigation and mapping), media and entertainment, and lifestyle and personal productivity applications. The Fund will consider all stages of development and is to be co-managed by JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners.
More details on the BlackBerry Partners Fund site.

About the iFund
KPCB’s (Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers) iFund is a $100M investment initiative that will fund market-changing ideas and products that extend the revolutionary new iPhone and iPod touch platform. The iFund is agnostic to size and stage of investment and will invest in companies building applications, services and components. Focus areas include location based services, social networking, mCommerce (including advertising and payments), communication, and entertainment. The iFund will back innovators pursuing transformative, high-impact ideas with an eye towards building independent durable companies atop the iPhone / iPod touch platform.
Seattle-based Pelago Inc. is the first company to receive financial backing through the iFund. Their social discovery service, Whrrl, will be available on the iPhone as a native application in June 2008.
More details on the KPCB iFund site.

where to buy

Buy from Amazon

What Others Say about This

Mobile data boom could spell end to 'all you can eat'

NEWS A predicted massive rise in mobile data traffic could mean the end of unlimited 'all you can eat' data contracts for smartphones and tablets, according to an industry expert. Data usage on mobile devices grew for the fourth year in a row and more th ...
Full article at: ZDNet UK More like this 3 hours ago

Scrolldit, A Visual Reddit Frontend

I personally like the minimalistic approach over at Reddit as I prefer minimalistic over sites that bombard you with visual eye candy. Some users on the other hand might like a more visual interface, and that’s exactly what Scrolldit offers. It basically ...
Full article at: GHacks Technology News More like this 3 hours ago

AP Top Technology News At 9:14 a.m. EST

Independent voices from the TWT Communities A statistically slanted view of sports, brought to you by a disciple of the Bill James movement. Egypt is filled with first hand accounts about Egypt - sharing stories, culture and news. This is story of a bele ...
Full article at: Washington Times More like this 4 hours ago

Don't miss ...

Technology News

Solar Powered Clothing: The Future of Mobile Charging...

Luigi Lugmayr
Luigi is the founding chief Editor of I4U News and brings over 15 years experience in the technology field to the ever evolving and exciting world of gadgets. He started I4U News back in 2000 and evolved it into vibrant technology magazine.
Luigi can be contacted directly at ml@i4u.com. Luigi posts regularly on LuigiMe.com about his experience running I4U.