Katie Marsal
BusinessWeek reports that fund managers at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers have received submissions from 1,700 startups hoping to vie for a slice of the $100 million iFund, announced this past March at Apple's iPhone Software Roadmap event.
The venture capital firm has thus far funded just two of those companies, made an offer to a third, and is presently considering funding for another ten.
Pelago, a developer of on-the-go lifestyle applications, was reportedly the first to see funding for an iPhone version of its Whrrl application. By leveraging the mapping capabilities of the iPhone and other smartphones, the software tries to make it easy to find information about places and businesses within close proximity to a user's current geographical location.
"Say you're lost in Las Vegas and need a restaurant recommendation. With iPhone in hand, you can scan the locations of nearby restaurants, just Italian restaurants, or just those recommended by foodie friends," BusinessWeek explains. "Or you could search for the highest-rated bars or kid-friendly activities recommended by friends from your social network."
Joining Pleago as the only other company to receive an iFund grant at this time is iControl, makers of home automation software that would give iPhone users remote control over air conditioners, lighting, window shades, and so forth.
iControl for iPhone should let you kill the lights from the dent in your couch.
Not all third-party developers authoring iPhone applications for distribution over Apple's upcoming App Store are necessarily in need of funding. The same report notes that Loopt, which offers software that lets mobile users see the proximity of their friends, will announce deals with more mobile providers at "an upcoming event."
BusinessWeek echos the popular notion that June 9th, the first day of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, will see the unveiling of the company's much anticipated 3G iPhone. It may also offer a preview of one or more of the aforementioned applications.
Christine McKee
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85 Comments
That iControl is exactly the next thing Apple can expand in! How it is done, what devices can be monitored and controlled, and the adoption by third-party manufacturers (to implement a consistent Mac-like interface) will all be determining factors in its ultimate success.
Neither of these apps seem to me to warrant money from the iFund. Google maps can already tell you where restaurants are (OK no user feedback, but still), and iControl seems to be for such a limited user base, and it's not really innovative.
Maybe I'm just being a Scrooge, but I wouldn't have either of these apps on my iPhone, even if they were free.
Neither of these apps seem to me to warrant money from the iFund. Google maps can already tell you where restaurants are (OK no user feedback, but still), and iControl seems to be for such a limited user base, and it's not really innovative.
Maybe I'm just being a Scrooge, but I wouldn't have either of these apps on my iPhone, even if they were free.
Yeah, I have to agree. These seem like such pedestrian, uninspired choices. Esp. coming from a classic, savvy VC firm such as KPCB.
Neither of these apps seem to me to warrant money from the iFund. Google maps can already tell you where restaurants are (OK no user feedback, but still), and iControl seems to be for such a limited user base, and it's not really innovative.
Maybe I'm just being a Scrooge, but I wouldn't have either of these apps on my iPhone, even if they were free.
I agree with macFanDave. IControl is a natural progression of what we should be able to do with our electronics and appliances. But you are right, at this time the user base would be very small. We'll need to get some new standards in place to make it ubquitous. I think Bonjour networked devices would be a good start. It'll take a decade before we start to see any real change, but I think it's inevitable.
I'm a little confused by this other app. Maybe it does offer some things that Google doesn't. I guess I'll have to see it first. I wonder if this is an indiavation that the 3G iPhone won't have true GPS.
Neither of these apps seem to me to warrant money from the iFund. Google maps can already tell you where restaurants are (OK no user feedback, but still), and iControl seems to be for such a limited user base, and it's not really innovative.
Maybe I'm just being a Scrooge, but I wouldn't have either of these apps on my iPhone, even if they were free.
If the iFund has any intelligent people, for their first round picks they should just fund existing companies with actual users (what a concept) who only lack the funding to take their product to the next level. After an initial round of guaranteed success, they could take greater risks on unproven companies and concepts.