Royal Bank, Research In Motion and Thomson Reuters are teaming up to launch a US$150 million venture capital fund, the BlackBerry Partners Fund, to invest in mobile applications and services for RIM’s BlackBerry platform and other mobile platforms.

The fund is to be co-managed by JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners. The fund will not invest exclusively in any single platform or any specific industry segment. It will focus on applications and services for mobile commerce (payments, advertising, retailing and banking), vertical and horizontal enterprise applications, communications, social networking, location-based applications and services (navigation and mapping), media and entertainment, and lifestyle and personal productivity applications.

“The BlackBerry Partners Fund will focus on evaluating companies in all regions of the world and investing in the long term success of those that demonstrate market leadership and unique differentiation,” said John Albright, managing partner of JLA Ventures, who will also assume the role of co-managing partner of the fund. “Whether it’s access to corporate data or the latest craze in mobile entertainment, we want to fund companies that are forerunners in driving adoption and further enriching the mobile experience.”