Billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla has raised more than $1 billion for clean energy funds, with state pension funds making big commitments, according to Bloomberg News. It’s the first time Khosla has raised money from outside investors.
“We’re taking a classic long-term perspective and worrying less about the vagaries of the marketplace,” Khosla said. “The infrastructure of society is up for renewal, and the technology won’t happen overnight, and the business models definitely won’t happen overnight.”
The fund is the largest so far this year, topping the $650 million pool raised by August Capital, also of Menlo Park, according to the National Venture Capital Association.
Khosla Ventures has invested in at least 37 clean-tech ventures, but is looking into other areas as well, according to the Wall Street Journal Digits blog.
David Weiden, one of Khosla’s partners who concentrates specifically in tech investments, said the firm is allotting more money towards clean tech because that sector boasts “a lot of opportunity where there’s relatively little competition relative to the size of the market.” In the crowded tech field, meanwhile, opportunities can be “somewhat harder to come by,” he said.
But he also sees several stand-out tech investment themes. Mobile is one of them, Weiden said. While venture-investment successes in mobile generally have been spotty, more than four billion people worldwide now have cellphones and more businesses can be built off that base, he said.