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Japan’s NTT DoCoMo is setting up a 10-billion-yen (about $109 million) venture fund to invest in new businesses making apps and services for smartphones and tablets. Under the scheme, DoCoMo will launch an incubation program to support startups and venture companies, and invest in Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups II.
Companies in this market are being invited to apply for the incubation program before March 11. If selected, they will be provided with various resources and know-how, including up to $23,000 seed funding in convertible notes, use of office space, other infrastructure conducive to business development, and mentoring on management and development. Moreover, even more support will be offered to those developing promising services and/or technologies that DoCoMo could use (offer to its clients).
Pretty cool how today’s carriers are looking beyond their traditional markets for ideas. They don’t want to turn to dump-pipes after all…
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
