Seeking to capitalize on the fervent interest on popular websites like Facebook and Twitter, JPMorgan Chase is preparing to unveil a new social media investment fund aimed at both Internet and new media ventures to help spur innovation on Sunday.
The fund, which is seeking between $500 and $750 million in raised capital, is meant to assist social media-related companies that have already established viable business models and revenue streams but have yet to undergo initial public offerings.
Hoping to catch the next Groupon, LinkedIn, or Facebook, which have either already filed publicly or are expected to soon, the banking giant plans to trade shares of these upcoming firms on their clients' behalf only. The move follows Goldman Sachs own recent fundraising round for Facebook resulting in $1.5 billion dollars in new capital for the social network leader.
This latest announcement from JP Morgan comes in advance of the financial institution's investor conference on Tuesday, in which it will review its current business investments and plans for the coming year.
While not an end all be all for them in terms of revenue generation, JP Morgan certainly believes that social media as a business will soon make a quantum leap business-wise, once the initial wave of expected IPOs are launched and are positioning themselves to take full advantage.