Google Gadget Ventures[1] is a new initiative by Google Inc. to fund and grant developers to Google Gadget developers. This provides an incentive for developers and also provides additions to iGoogle’s widgets. Users will also be recognized by Google.
Users can apply for a $5,000 grant for further development. To be given the investment, Gadgets must have 250,000+ page views per week. Users also have to provide a one-page proposal about how the user will improve the gadget. Google will not take any equity and won’t ask for repayment.
If the Google Gadget has received a $5,000 grant and gains further traction, Google will invest $100,000 in the form of seed capital. This is assuming that the developer wants to make a business out of the Gadget.
For further information refer to the Google Code Blog post:
http://google-code-updates.blogspot.com/2007/06/google-gadget-ventures.html[2]
[1] Google Gadget Ventures
[2] Google Code: Google Gadget Ventures