“Earlier this year, Apple surprised us all when Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers announced it would support the iPhone by creating a standalone $100 million iFund focused on making investments in companies building iPhone applications. Six months later, KPCB has written five checks, and the iPhone has turned out to be a dynamic marketplace with millions of applications being downloaded by tons of eager users,” Tricia Duryee reports for mocoNews. “Today, I caught up with Matt Murphy, who is managing the iPhone-focused fund, to discuss everything from the potential opportunity that the iPhone represents to what’s next for mobile to Google Android and the recent announcement that Cyriac Roeding, the former EVP of mobile at CBS, will be joining KPCB as an entrepreneur-in-residence.”
Duryee: Why did KPCB decide on creating a fund focused on one platform? Doesn’t that go against the grain of VC’s who like to diversify their risks?
Murphy: The way we look at the iPhone is that it is the leading platform, and by far has the most advanced data applications. Over time, most companies [in the fund] will eventually diversify to other platforms, so it’s not solely a bet on one platform. But if you are going to try to launch a company right now, and you want to operate on an open platform, the iPhone is the best device because it has a user base that’s anxiously awaiting new applications and they are using it 30x compared to other devices. The iPhone is the place to be. One of the statistics we’ve been looking at is the figure Steve Jobs quoted of there being 60 million downloads in the first 30 days. If you strip out ringtones and wallpaper sales for all the U.S. carriers combined, that’s more downloads than they have in an entire quarter. That means 10 million iPhone users are outselling the entire U.S. market of 250 million mobile devices. So, it’s not risky in that sense. That’s where the traffic is, and that’s where there’s an open environment.
Much more in the full article here.
[Attribution: Distorted-Loop. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Chuckles the Microsoft CEO” for the heads up.]
But where are the Fart apps?
I’m an appaholic, somebody please help me!
Windows mobile market has 18,000 apps….. well, most of them are useless……and they only sell a hundred by year….and….forget it..
@cmw
Good news! There’s two new iPhone apps that help you regulate your iPhone app buying!
One only opens your iPhone to app store browsing during certain times of the day. The other limits the number of app store downloads to one a day.
Both are only $2.99 and both automatically alert you when hot new iPhone apps become available! (That last part is designed to make you stronger.)
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Ringtones?
How about one from Steve?
“Insanely great!” “BOOM!” “Insanely great!” “BOOM!” “Insanely great!” “BOOM!” “Insanely great!” “BOOM!” “Oh. And one more thing.”
Only 5 checks?!?!? Come on you bastards, dish out the dough!
How about this question:
“You have a $100 million fund, but you’ve only written five checks, presumably to five different developers. Why are you being so stingy with the money?”
“hat means 10 million iPhone users are outselling the entire U.S. market of 250 million mobile devices. “
you mean iphone AND itouch users
Thats amazing stats. Windows has 18000 applications and about 2 of them are good. LOL
Question of KCBP (or whatever):
So why have you guys only funded startups that you’re already on the board or have previously funded?
(the truth is out there)
http://macenstein.com/default/archives/1384
$100 million will fund a lot of tip calculators.
quote of the year:
“The iPhone is the place to be.”
Cubert / bizlaw: “”You have a $100 million fund, but you’ve only written five checks, presumably to five different developers. Why are you being so stingy with the money?”
They only want to fund the very best in Tip Calculators.
Two questions,
1. Have any of the funded apps been released? If not, when are they expected to be released?
2. You can buy wallpaper for the iPhone?
Okay, that’s three.
The Other Steve,
I don’t have an iPhone, but can’t you pick one of your pictures and make it the wallpaper?
I’ve read about one of the apps that have been funded, but I honestly can’t remember the name of it but I do remember that it was an established company and was enterprise grade.
This really is AMAZING.
It shows the passion iPhone users have for their device. I mean ultimately the iPhone doesn’t sell nearly as well as Nokia phones. Nokia sells a million phones a month. There are nowhere near as many iPhones out there as Windows Mobile devices, yet the sales from the iPhone store are amazing.
Does this only count actual sales or the free downloads as well?
Viktor said: “Windows mobile market has 18,000 apps….. well, most of them are useless …”
Yeah, and the iPhone/iPod touch app store has a similar ratio of available apps to worth while apps. Over 90% of them are repeats/updates or just generally useless while the rest are useful to a significant minority of the users. Just like widgets for the desktop.
This really shouldn’t be considered a failure as it is a fact of life in the market for “modest” apps. Many of which come from houses with but a single coder with limited interests.
@theloniusMac
” I mean ultimately the iPhone doesn’t sell nearly as well as Nokia phones. Nokia sells a million phones a month. “
Please don’t go there.
– Of course Nokia sells a million phones a month; so what?!?!?
They have 108 DIFFERENT MOBILE PHONE MODELS, 7 of which are feature comparable with the iPhone. (source: nokia.com)
Apple has… wait for it… 1 model of mobile phone
To make such a comparison is simply stupid. You should know better than that.
Of course the Magic is the AppStore.
Putting the free and cheap apps right in the users face makes the job of buying so easy.
I’m sure I read somewhere that MS is planning something similar, and of course Google will have it with Android. And they’d be mad not to go down that path.
Making it easy for users to buy stuff using AppStore and iTunes is one Apples biggest smart moves.