MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Khosla Ventures, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm, today announced that the company has raised a new $1.05 billion fund to help great entrepreneurs continue to harvest their potential for breakthrough and innovative ideas. The Khosla Ventures IV fund will further the firm’s strategy to invest in early stage investments in the areas of clean tech, IT, mobile, and Internet technology. “We have identified the 'Clean Dozen' companies in clean tech that can achieve unsubsidized market competitiveness and the 'Cool Dozen' categories in Internet and mobile in the post-PC world such as big data, emotion, interest graphs and consumer health,” said Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla.
Khosla Ventures IV follows the Khosla Ventures III fund and Khosla Ventures seed fund. The Khosla Ventures III fund of $1 billion of investor commitments focused on traditional early stage and growth stage companies. Khosla Ventures also previously raised $300 million for the Khosla Ventures seed fund which invests in high-risk, high-return opportunities, particularly groundbreaking science or internet developments, besides traditional venture investments.
Given the success of the previous funds Khosla Ventures does not anticipate any change in strategy. Khosla Ventures will continue to do Internet, mobile and the clean tech ventures roughly in the same ratio as previous funds. The firm will also continue to invest in IT and cloud services as well as new areas outside of traditional venture capital.
“We fundamentally invest in the companies that we expect to have significant impact, and that’s precisely what the Khosla Ventures IV fund will do,” said Khosla. “We don't mind failing but do care that the impact be material if we do succeed; and we believe that our willingness to fail gives us an ability to succeed. We will continue to not compute IRR’s when investing as we believe in helping entrepreneurs build companies with high impact and high option value that are not subject to traditional financial metrics.”
“In clean tech, our IPO’s and other exits that have generated almost a billion dollars in profits personify this strategy. We endeavor to be the earliest investors in disruptive Internet and mobile companies which have gone on to complete exciting financings such as Square, Jawbone, ZocDoc and Lookout,” continued Khosla. “Instead of following the herd strategy of investing where others are investing, we continue to try and originate new areas in both sectors. We will also continue to attempt new strategies in venture by providing more venture assistance to companies such as putting together an operational group.” As Khosla has often said, “We are not in the venture capital business. We are in the venture assistance business.”
Founded by Vinod Khosla in 2004, Khosla Ventures is investing in technology processes of the future. The Khosla Ventures IV fund comes after three biofuels and biochemical portfolio companies have completed successful initial public offerings. This includes Amyris, an industrial synthetic biology platform; Gevo, a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company; and KiOR, a renewable fuels company that has developed a proprietary technology platform to convert biomass into renewable gasoline and diesel blendstocks. Khosla Ventures remains committed to seeking out disruptors in traditional and unconventional areas of venture investing.
About Khosla Ventures
Khosla Ventures offers venture assistance, strategic advice and capital to entrepreneurs. The firm helps entrepreneurs extend the potential of their ideas in breakthrough scientific work in clean technology areas such as bio-refineries for energy and bioplastics, solar, battery and other environmentally friendly technologies as well as traditional venture areas like the Internet, computing, mobile and silicon technology arenas. Vinod Khosla founded the firm in 2004 and was formerly a General Partner at Kleiner Perkins and founder of Sun Microsystems. Khosla Ventures is based in Menlo Park, California. More information is available at www.khoslaventures.com.