Apple hires prominent venture capitalist for App Store role

Photographer: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg

Apple Inc. hired Josh Elman, a former venture capitalist at Greylock Partners who led the early investments in Discord and the precursor to TikTok, to work on the App Store.

Elman’s role will focus on discovering applications for customers, he said in a statement Monday. He will take a step back from the investments and boards he sits on, including the communications app Discord and blogging site Medium.

Until last year, Elman was Vice President of Products at Robinhood Markets Inc., the very popular stock trading app. His experience in identifying and investing in later successful apps could help Apple better promote software in its App Store, which generated nearly $ 54 billion in revenue for the company in fiscal 2020. Elman’s presence could also improve relations with developers, which have become strained over the past year.

Two of Elman’s most successful investments now belong to two big Apple agitators. SmartThings, which makes technology for connected homes, was acquired by Samsung Electronics Co. HouseParty, which develops games for smartphones, is now owned by Epic Games Inc., the maker of Fortnite who is suing Apple over its rules for the App Store.