Cloudflare Announces $100 Million Developer Fund to Support its Next-Generation Apps Platform
Cloudflare Announces $100 Million Developer Fund to Support its Next-Generation Apps Platform
Companies like Twitter, Pinterest, Spotify, and Zendesk Are Already Working with Cloudflare to Make Adding Powerful Apps One-Click Simple
Companies like Twitter, Pinterest, Spotify, and Zendesk Are Already Working with Cloudflare to Make Adding Powerful Apps One-Click Simple
SAN FRANCISCO, June 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Cloudflare, the leading Internet performance and security company, is introducing the all-new Cloudflare Apps, a free platform that enables developers to build applications that leverage Cloudflare’s global infrastructure and distribute them to the more than six million users on Cloudflare’s network. As part of this new platform, the company is announcing the $100 million Cloudflare Developer Fund, backed by leading venture capital investors, to finance startups building applications on the Cloudflare Apps Platform.
Cloudflare has partnered with its three first venture capital investors — New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Venrock, and Pelion Venture Partners — to invest in companies building applications on the Cloudflare Apps Platform. In addition to distributing apps to millions of users on Cloudflare’s network, qualified companies will have the opportunity to receive a cash investment, marketing support, and technical advice from participating venture capital partners.
“Cloudflare’s app platform is an exciting opportunity for developers and investors,” said Bryan Roberts, Partner, Venrock. "Building on the success of other app platforms like Java and the iPhone App Store, Cloudflare is giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to rethink and shape how the next generation of Internet companies get built.”
Opening Cloudflare’s Global Infrastructure to Third-Party Developers
Cloudflare runs one of the world’s largest networks but until now only Cloudflare’s own team could develop applications that take advantage of its scale. The Cloudflare Apps Platform opens Cloudflare’s network to third-party developers. The Apps Platform is a collection of APIs that allows developers to build applications that take advantage Cloudflare’s global network infrastructure, easily deploy their applications to any of Cloudflare’s customers, and get paid for the applications they have built. The Cloudflare Developer Fund helps finance applications built on the Apps Platform from investors who understand the scale and reach of Cloudflare.
“When you build a startup you need three things: a way to efficiently reach customers, a way to get paid, and capital to finance your development,” explained Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare. “Together the Cloudflare Apps Platform and Developer Fund solve these three challenges. I’m looking forward to seeing the new applications that will be created now that we’ve unlocked for developers access to Cloudflare’s global infrastructure, and world-class investors who understand the opportunity of leveraging Cloudflare’s scale.”
Cloudflare Apps Platform Already Leveraged By Leading Developers
Today more than 50 applications are available for anyone using the Cloudflare Apps platform, including those from Twitter, Pinterest, Spotify, Zendesk, and VigLink:
“Millions of people come to Twitter to see what's happening in the world,” said Ben Ward, product manager, Twitter's Publisher Platform. “The Tweet This app in Cloudflare Apps lets people share the news that matters to them in a personal, creative way.”
“Pinterest has always been the save button for the Internet, allowing people to discover and do things they love. Pinterest's partnership with the Cloudflare Apps Platform makes it even easier for website owners to add Pinterest widgets to their blogs and e-commerce stores, and is a key part of our strategy to connect Pinterest with people all over the world,” said Kent Brewster, product engineer, Pinterest.
“Zendesk is excited to partner with Cloudflare to help businesses improve their customer relationships,” said Billy Robins, director of technical alliances, Zendesk. “Our integration in the Cloudflare Apps Platform allows customers to easily and quickly embed our Web Widget themselves, inserting self-service functionality directly into their web property.”
"VigLink has always focused on empowering publishers, and the launch of Cloudflare Apps is a watershed moment,” said Oliver Roup, CEO and founder, VigLink. “Incremental publisher revenue is delivered without compromising user experience, now a single click away from more than 6 million of the web's savviest publishers. A better Internet isn't just faster and safer, it's more lucrative too."
To learn more about Cloudflare Apps, please check out the resources below: