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Kleiner Perkins

Coordinates: 37°25′18″N 122°12′41″W / 37.421731°N 122.211275°W / 37.421731; -122.211275
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"KPCB" redirects here. Not to be confused with KPMG.

Kleiner Perkins
FormerlyKleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB)
Company typePrivate
IndustryVenture capital
Founded1972; 52 years ago (1972) in California
Founders
Headquarters
Menlo Park, California
,
U.S.
ProductsInvestments
Websitewww.kleinerperkins.com

Kleiner Perkins, formerly Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), is an American venture capital firm which specializes in investing in incubation, early stage and growth companies. Since its founding in 1972, the firm has backed entrepreneurs[1] in over 900 ventures,[2][3] including America Online,[4] Amazon.com,[5] Tandem Computers, Compaq,[6] Electronic Arts,[4] JD.com, Square,[7] Genentech,[6] Google, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Nest, Palo Alto Networks, Synack, Snap, AppDynamics, and Twitter.[7] By 2019 it had raised around $9 billion in 19 venture capital funds[8] and four growth funds.[3]

Kleiner Perkins is headquartered in Menlo Park in Silicon Valley,[9] with offices in San Francisco[9] and Shanghai, China.[10]

The New York Times described Kleiner Perkins as "perhaps Silicon Valley's most famous venture firm".[11] The Wall Street Journal called it one of the "largest and most established" venture capital firms[12] and Dealbook named it "one of Silicon Valley's top venture capital providers."[13]

History

[edit]
History of private equity
and venture capital
Early history
(origins of modern private equity)
The 1980s
(leveraged buyout boom)
The 1990s
(leveraged buyout and the venture capital bubble)
The 2000s
(dot-com bubble to the credit crunch)
The 2010s
(expansion)
The 2020s
(COVID-19 recession)

The firm was formed in 1972 as Kleiner Perkins. When Caufield and Byers became partners as well, the name was changed to Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers (KPCB)[14][15] in Menlo Park, California,[16] with a focus on seed, early-stage, and growth companies.[14][15] The firm is named after its four founding partners: Eugene Kleiner, Tom Perkins, Frank J. Caufield, and Brook Byers.[16] Kleiner was a founder of Fairchild Semiconductor, and Perkins was an early Hewlett-Packard executive.[16][17] Byers joined in 1977.[18] It was the very first venture capital firm to open an office on Sand Hill Road and is credited with creating the cluster of venture capital firms in that area.[19]

Located in Menlo Park, California, Kleiner Perkins had access to the growing technology industries in the area. By the early 1970s, there were many semiconductor companies based in the Santa Clara Valley as well as early computer firms using their devices and programming and service companies. Venture capital firms suffered a temporary downturn in 1974, when the stock market crashed and investors were naturally wary of this new kind of investment fund. Nevertheless, the firm was still active in this period.[citation needed] By 1996, Kleiner Perkins had funded around 260 companies a total of $880 million.[18] Beyond the original founders, notable members of the firm have included individuals such as[20] John Doerr,[21] Vinod Khosla,[22] and Bill Joy.[23]

Colin Powell joined as a "strategic" partner in 2005,[11] while Al Gore joined as a partner[13][24] in 2007[22][25] as part of a collaboration between Kleiner Perkins and Generation Investment Management.[26] Mary Meeker joined the firm in 2010,[20] and that year Kleiner Perkins expanded its practice to invest in growth stage companies.[27] Meeker departed in 2019 to found Bond Capital.[28] Mamoon Hamid from Social Capital and Ilya Fushman from Index Partners joined in 2017 and 2018 respectively, both as investing partners.[29]

The New York Times has described Kleiner Perkins as "perhaps Silicon Valley's most famous venture firm".[11] The firm was described by Dealbook in 2009 as "one of Silicon Valley's top venture capital providers",[13] and The Wall Street Journal in 2010 called it one of the "largest and most established" venture capital firms.[12] By 2019 it had raised around $9 billion in 19 venture capital funds[8] and four growth funds.[3]

In May 2012, Ellen Pao, an employee, sued the firm for gender discrimination in Pao v. Kleiner Perkins,[30] which the firm has vigorously denied.[31] On 27 March 2015, after a month-long trial, the jury found against Pao on all claims.[32] In June 2015, Pao filed an appeal.[33] In September 2015, Pao announced she would no longer appeal the jury verdict.[34]

In September 2018, Kleiner Perkins announced it was spinning out its digital growth team into a new independent firm.[35][36] The firm announced its 19th fund on 31 January 2019[8] after raising $600 million. The fund is focused on early stage investments[37] in the "consumer, enterprise, hard tech and fintech" sectors.[38] The firm raised US$600 million for its 18th fund, KP XVIII, in January 2019.[39][40]

Investments

[edit]

In March 2008 Kleiner Perkins announced the iFund, a $100 million venture capital investment initiative that funds concepts related to the iPhone, and doubled that investment a year later.[41] It was reported in April 2008 that Kleiner Perkins was raising funds for a $500 million growth-stage clean-technology fund.[15][42] In October 2010, the firm launched a $250 million fund called sFund to focus on social startups, with co-investors such as Facebook, Zynga and Amazon.com.[43] In early 2016, the firm raised $1.4 billion in KP XVII and DGF III.[44]

The firm has been an early investor in more than 900[2] technology and life sciences firms since its founding,[45] including Amazon.com,[5] America Online,[4] Applied Intuition,[46] Beyond Meat, Citrix,[47] Compaq,[6] Electronic Arts,[4] Genentech,[6] Google,[5] Glean,[48] Intuit,[43] Lotus Development,[49] Netscape,[18] Shazam,[50] Shyp,[51] Nest,[47] Sun Microsystems,[49] and Twitter.[7] Some current investments include DJI, Handshake, Coursera,[7] Shape Security,[52] Farmers Business Network, Interos,[53] IronNet Cybersecurity, Desktop Metal, Gusto, Plaid, Rippling, Robinhood, Slack, UiPath, Netlify, Loom, Viz.ai, and Looker.[54] Very recent investments include Modern Health,[55] Pillar,[56] Future,[57] TogetherAI[58] and STORD.[59]

Kleiner Perkins paid $5 million in 1994 for around 25% of Netscape and profited from Netscape's IPO.[18] Its investment of $8 million in Cerent was worth around $2 billion[60] when the optical equipment maker was sold to Cisco Systems[16] for $6.9 billion in August 1999.[61] In 1999, Kleiner Perkins[5] paid $12 million for a stake in Google.[62] As of 2019, the market cap of Google's parent company was estimated at around $831 billion.[63] As initial investors in Amazon.com Kleiner Perkins scored returns[5] in excess of $1 billion[64] on an $8 million investment.[5]

Key partners

[edit]
See also: Category:Kleiner Perkins people

The firm currently has five partners managing investments:[29][65]

Key Advisors

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Capital Markets: Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Assets": Kleiner Perkins, 2019
  3. ^ a b c Companies, Kleiner Perkins, 2017, archived from the original on 15 July 2017, retrieved 22 July 2017
  4. ^ a b c d Clifford, Stephanie (28 April 2008). "Venture Firm Hires Creative Chief at Electronic Arts". The New York Times. New York City, United States. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "How John Doerr, the old prospector, finally struck Google". CNET. 2004. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d "Executive Joins Kleiner Perkins". The New York Times. 14 March 1984. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d "KPCB Portfolio Companies". Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  8. ^ a b c "Future Raises $8.5M in Series A Funding Led by Kleiner Perkins to Digitize the Personal Training Experience": Kleiner Perkins, 5/23/2019
  9. ^ a b Kleiner Perkins Offices at KPCB.com Archived 22 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Headquarters, KPCB China, retrieved 2 May 2017
  11. ^ a b c Rivlin, Gary (13 July 2005). "Colin Powell Joins Venture Capital Firm". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  12. ^ a b Austin, Scott (22 January 2010). "One of These Venture Firms Is Not Like The Other". The Wall Street Journal.
  13. ^ a b c "Gore's Dual Role in Spotlight: Advocate and Investor". The New York Times (Dealbook). 3 November 2009.
  14. ^ a b KPCB Information Technology Archived 3 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ a b c Richtel, Matt (1 May 2008). "Kleiner Perkins Goes Late on Energy". The New York Times.
  16. ^ a b c d Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers History, International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 53. St. James Press, 2003, retrieved 17 May 2017
  17. ^ Tandem Computers - International Directory of Company Histories Vol. 6, St. James Press, 1992
  18. ^ a b c d Corcoran, Elizabeth (13 October 1996). "Venture Capital Firm Kleiner Perkins Has Long Nurtured Internet Enterprises". ‘’Washington Post’’. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  19. ^ Nicholas, Tom (2019). VC: An American History. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 212. ISBN 9780674240117.
  20. ^ a b "Team". KPCB. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  21. ^ Kaplan, Jerry (1996) [first published by Houghton Mifflin Company 1994]. Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure. Bridgewater, NJ: Penguin Books. pp. 301–302. ISBN 0-7351-0141-8. (hc.); (pbk.).
  22. ^ a b "Greentech Initiative". Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  23. ^ Primack, Dan (16 April 2012). "Exclusive: Big changes coming to Kleiner Perkins". Fortune. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  24. ^ a b "Al Gore joins Kleiner Perkins as a partner — to push green investments". VentureBeat. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  25. ^ Coile, Zachary (13 November 2007). "Gore joins Valley's Kleiner Perkins to push green business". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  26. ^ "Generation Investment Management and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Create International Alliance to Accelerate Global Climate Solutions". Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Generation Investment Management. 12 November 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  27. ^ McBride, Sarah (27 June 2014). "Kleiner Perkins files to raise $1.2 billion in new venture funds". Reuters. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  28. ^ "Mary Meeker Makes First Investment Out of Bond Capital": Fortune, Polina Marinova, published 5/21/2019
  29. ^ a b "People": Kleiner Perkins, published 2019
  30. ^ McBride, Sarah (22 May 2012). "Kleiner partner sues firm for discrimination". Reuters. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  31. ^ Roy, Jessica (22 May 2012). "Kleiner Perkins 'Vigorously Denies' Ellen Pao's Gender Discrimination Claims". The Observer (Betabeat). Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  32. ^ Elder, Jeff (28 March 2015). "Jury Backs Kleiner Perkins in Sex-Bias Case". The Wall Street Journal.
  33. ^ Kocalitcheva, Kia (11 August 2015). "Ellen Pao appeals order to pay Kleiner Perkins trial costs". Fortune. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  34. ^ Elder, Jeff (10 September 2015). "Ellen Pao Won't Appeal Trial Loss in Case Against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers". The Wall Street Journal. New York City. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  35. ^ "Kleiner Perkins is splitting up". 14 September 2018.
  36. ^ Griffith, Erin (14 September 2018). "Mary Meeker, 'Queen of the Internet,' is Leaving Kleiner Perkins to Start a New Fund". The New York Times.
  37. ^ "The Funded: Kleiner Perkins, TCV raise big new funds": Silicon Valley Business Journal, Cromwell Schubarth, 2/1/2019
  38. ^ "Why VC Firm Kleiner Perkins Wants to ‘Return to Its Roots’ With a New $600M Fund": Fortune, Polina Marinova, 2/1/2019
  39. ^ "Why VC Firm Kleiner Perkins Wants to 'Return to its Roots' with a New $600M Fund".
  40. ^ "How the Kleiner Perkins Empire Fell". Fortune. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  41. ^ KPCB doubles iFund investment to $200MM Archived 10 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  42. ^ Haislip, Alexander; Dan Primack (24 April 2008). "Kleiner Perkins raising green growth fund". Private Equity Week. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  43. ^ a b Arrington, Michael (21 October 2010). "The Kleiner Perkins sFund: A$250 mn bet that social is just getting started". TechCrunch. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  44. ^ Levy, Ari (23 May 2016). "Kleiner Perkins raising close to $1.3 billion for two funds: Sources". CNBC. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  45. ^ "SEC Schedule 13G, filed Feb. 17, 1999".
  46. ^ "Applied Intuition, Whose Software Tests Self-Driving Cars, Grabs $40 Million". Wall Street Journal. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  47. ^ a b "Partnerships". www.kleinerperkins.com. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  48. ^ Cai, Kenrick. "This Former Google Engineer Wants To Finally Make Search Work—For Work". Forbes. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  49. ^ a b "75 Power Players". Next Generation (11). Imagine Media: 66–67. November 1995. Kleiner, Perkins, Coffhil & Beyers [sic] were one of the initial investors in The 3DO Company, and as a result, they made a lot of money.
  50. ^ Lawsky, David (14 October 2009). "Kleiner Perkins to invest in iPhone app Shazam". Reuters. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  51. ^ Rao, Leena (21 April 2015). "Fortune: Shyp, a mobile shipping app, raises $50 million". Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  52. ^ Primack, Dan (25 February 2014). "Deals of the day: Shape Security raises $40 million". Fortune.
  53. ^ Interos (12 March 2020). "Interos Raises $17.5M from Venrock and Kleiner Perkins to Grow Third-Party Risk Management Platform". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  54. ^ "History In The Making". www.kleinerperkins.com. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  55. ^ Brodwin, Erin. "Modern Health just raised $9 million from Kleiner Perkins and Jared Leto to upend how you get mental healthcare at work". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  56. ^ Konish, Lorie (30 May 2019). "This company wants to help shave $6,200 off your student loans". CNBC. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  57. ^ "Future launches $150/mo exercise app where real coaches nag you": TechCrunch, Josh Constine, published 6/2019
  58. ^ "Together lands $102.5M investment to grow its cloud for training generative AI". 29 November 2023.
  59. ^ "Stord raises $12.3 million to digitize warehousing and distribution". VentureBeat. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  60. ^ Street Journal, Scott ThurmStaff Reporter of The Wall (26 August 1999). "Cisco to Acquire Cerent For $6.9 Billion in Stock". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  61. ^ Cisco buys Cerent, Monterey Networks - CNET (August 1999)
  62. ^ "How John Doerr, the old prospector, finally struck Google": CNET, published 5/3/2004
  63. ^ "Google has lost $70 billion off its market cap after a 'nasty combination' of slowing ad traffic and a drop in sales per click (GOOG)": Business Insider, Theron Mohamed, 4/30/2019
  64. ^ Rosoff, Matt. "Jeff Bezos told what may be the best startup investment story ever". Business Insider. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  65. ^ "Team". KPCB. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  66. ^ Gore, Al. "Al Gore". www.kleinerperkins.com. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
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37°25′18″N 122°12′41″W / 37.421731°N 122.211275°W / 37.421731; -122.211275

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