Apple CEO Steve Jobs dropped a "one more thing" announcement bomb at a press event  last week to detail plans for the iPhone software development kit: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers will pony up $100 million to seed development of iPhone applications.

The move marked an unusual step for the venture capital firm in backing Apple's operating system in the mobile world. It also opens up Kleiner Perkins as de facto incubator for startups wanting a piece of the action.

Red Herring caught up with Kleiner Perkins partner Matt Murphy after Apple's event held at its Cupertino, California, headquarters.

Red Herring: When did the idea for the iFund begin germinating?

Matt Murphy: We're invested in a little over 20 mobile companies. I'd say in early fall we started saying we wanted to put more resources behind the area. That led to the conversation of: OK, what's the most interesting platform? We've had a long relationship with Apple and Steve Jobs and raised the idea with him in the late fall.

RH: Will Apple be a limited partner in the fund?

MM: It has no capital in the fund. There will be no decision-making on specific investments, but it will provide a lot of help in helping us think of things that will be important.

RH: What are the risks of betting on a single hardware platform?

MM: It’s the most robust and interesting platform out there today. Ultimately, many of these developers will support other platforms. We feel the iPhone is absolutely the best platform to develop applications on…and from there developers will take these applications and put them on other platforms. We're not saying to developers: If you're in the iFund, you shouldn't develop for other platforms.

RH: What will draw iPhone software startups to the iFund instead of other venture funds?

MM: We've got a strong collaborative relationship with Apple and Apple's giving strategic and marketing and technical support to Kleiner Perkins and iFund companies.

RH: When will you begin releasing funding news?

MM: We've already said four companies will work closely with the iFund. One is Pelago [a Seattle company that lets users find people and events through location-based social networking].

RH: What kind of reception have you gotten from startups?

MM: It's off to a huge start. The entrepreneurs reaching out to us is off the charts already.