HP pumps more cash into Garage fund for startups

Hewlett Packard has added another $500m (£315m) to the $1bn already committed to its Garage ebusiness incubator fund, as it competes with Sun Microsystems for new internet business customers.

Hewlett Packard (HP) has added another $500m (£315m) to the $1bn already committed to its Garage ebusiness incubator fund, as it competes with Sun Microsystems for new internet business customers.

Gordon Lovell Read, head of new ventures at HP, said Garage is in a different league to Sun's iForce programme. "Hewlett Packard offers its partners access to the Garage; Sun has a shed. Garage is not a sales lead club that resellers must satisfy certain criteria to join, it is a resource that any of our partners can use in whatever way their customer needs," he said.

Lovell Read also said Sun's iForce was lacking in resources. "It doesn't have anything close to the might of HP Consulting, nor does it have its own bank to offer debt financing." Resellers could also access Garage for their own use, he said.

Daryl Ridell, marketing manager at Synstar, said: "If we wanted to start an application service provider business, we would look very hard at the risks and costs. Having access to an incubator scheme would be very useful."

Ridell said the tactic of feeding product sales by making it easier for clients to turn an idea into a successful business should succeed. "HP is in a position to provide the right services," he said.

Lovell Read said that HP aims to make startups bear fruit sooner, lower risks, and increase the value of the businesses by providing creative marketing, finance, legal advice and technology. He added that the only requirements HP will make on partners is a business plan with a reasonable chance of success.