Apple Announces iFund Along with Their SDK: Update

I followed liveblogs of the iPhone SDK announcement today (thanks to TUAW and Engadget) just for fun, to see if any new social platforms would emerge or special Web 2.0 news would come out.

Was I the only one shocked with the closing of the media event? I should have known that Jobs had something up his sleeve all along with his announcement of iFund. Apple is going to partner with KPCB in venture capital business, and I, for one, can't wait to see what they plan on investing in. With $100 million USD, they plan on investing in companies who are building applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The media event featured appearances from some big players, including EA and Salesforce.com (that's twice today I've mentioned them, how odd), showing how quickly these companies were able to get mobile apps up and running using the new iPhone SDK. EA, of course, used a mobile Spore app as their demo.

Apple is charging $99 to buy into the Apple Developer's program, but if there's $100 million sitting there waiting to fund applications just for the iPhone and Touch, it seems like a worthwhile investment to get your company off the ground.

Update: The fund is actually earmarked funds from KPCB, managed by KPCB partner Matt Murphy. Apple will be providing “insight” and (I would assume) help with the decision-making process. The iFund FAQ (linked above) states that the fund will “invest anywhere from $100K of seed capital to $15M of expansion capital in mobile application and services companies.“

And I still have no idea what Steve Jobs is going to do with that cash reserve.