PayPal announced the eleven finalists in its PayPal X Developer Challenge in which two teams will win $150,000 in prizes. The final winners will be announced at the DEMO Spring 2010 conference on March 22nd. The finalists are:

• Chittai
• Zippy Quiz
• Needakick!
• Rentalic
• appbacker
• SoundLoud
• MyHomie
• TextJumper
• Mixcloud
• Lords of the North
• Garment Export and Sales solution

One of the finalists, appbackr, is a wholesale digital marketplace for mobile applications. Buyers purchase wholesale units of apps from Apple iPhone and iPad developers, who get "immediate funding"; the buyers make a profit when the apps sell on the iTunes store.

Appbackr founder Trevor Cornwell said, “Our model unlocks value for developers; enables digital wholesaler buyers to profit from Apple, Inc. iTunes sales; and creates an all around economically viable eco-system around creative works.”

The PayPal X Developer Challenge helps PayPal highlight its new adaptive APIs, which allow payments to multiple parties in one seamless transaction. The company said last year it believes payments for services is a bigger opportunity than ecommerce at over $30 trillion, and believes that by opening the PayPal platform to third-party developers, it can capitalize on the opportunity.

Appbackr is by invitation only until launch.

Information about PayPal's Developer's program is found on this page.