Google offers seed funding for widget startups

Google is directly investing in small companies to expand the popularity of its iGoogle product. Google Gadget Ventures grants popular Google gadgets $5,000 for further development. Popular widget businesses are eligible for $100,000 in seed capital with Google taking an equity stake in each company. Google expects to invest $700,000 or more in third-party widget development over the next year.
About 9% of Google's gadget directory would be eligible for the grant consideration based on the Google Gadget pageview analysis I last conducted in April.