Two years ago -- when Kleiner Perkins established the iFund -- there was much controversy. Was there really enough opportunity to fund start-ups that build applications on Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and iPod-touch platforms?

Of course, this is now a moot point. In fact, Kleiner Perkins has doubled the size of the fund to $200 million.

Continue reading Kleiner Perkins Calls Up $100 Million for the iPad

Kleiner Perkins Calls Up $100 Million for the iPad originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When you smell an IPO coming, look for Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. The Sand Hill Road institution has a knack for sniffing out high-potential deals and putting its venture capital coffers to work. Mobile phone music discovery service Shazam could have a liquidity event coming, according to the Financial Times, which caught Kleiner Perkins' attention. So, the VC company has decided to take a stake in Shazam.

Continue reading Kleiner Perkins takes a piece of Shazam, fingers crossed for an IPO

Kleiner Perkins takes a piece of Shazam, fingers crossed for an IPO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Venture capital investment in clean technology grew 10% from the second quarter to the third this year. According to a report by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte, 134 companies received investments of $1.59 billion - up from $1.2 billion in the second quarter. The sector's upward trajectory continues, with last quarter marking the second in a row of double-digit growth. In the first quarter of 2009, venture capital investment in cleantech companies hit a low of $1 billion.

The strong third quarter has made the cleantech sector the largest in the venture capital business, according to the Cleantech Group, pulling ahead of biotech. Twenty-seven percent of venture capital funds invested in the second quarter of 2009 went to cleantech companies - up from 3% at the beginning of 2004.

Continue reading Cleantech VC funding up in Q3

Cleantech VC funding up in Q3 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Venture capital bucks the trend, up 3% in Q2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

2007 Nobel Prize Winner and 2000 Presidential election winner Al Gore has another notch on his belt -- partner at Silicon Valley's most prestigious venture capital firm -- Kleiner Perkins. (Thanks to the Supreme Court, Gore -- who won the 2000 Presidential vote -- did not serve.)

But he handled the disappointment well. His work on the documentary An Inconvenient Truth -- easily the highest payoff PowerPoint presentation ever made -- has helped make the world aware of the threat it faces from global warming and what people can do about it. Gore insightfully points out that climate change is a matter of war and peace. It has created conflict -- the drying up of a lake in Sudan contributed to genocide there and the melting of the polar icecap has set off an international sea grab at the top of the world.

So what's the deal with Gore at Kleiner Perkins? According to the New York Times, President-elect Gore's part-time job at Kleiner will be to assess the potential of alternative energy companies and to opine on whether Kleiner Perkins should invest in them. Gore plans to donate his salary from the venture to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit policy foundation. But he was not clear about whether he'd get the partner's share of the 2% of assets under management and 20% of the profits from successful "exits."

He was clearer about his political aspirations -- noting "I don't expect to be a candidate again."

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.

Will President-Elect Gore make green at Kleiner Perkins? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not long ago, Al Gore seemed like a has-been. Then he snagged both an Academy Award and the Nobel Peace prize.

Will these accolades persuade him to run for president again?

Perhaps not. Perhaps there are more effective ways to enact sweeping change. To wit: Gore has become a partner at the esteemed venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The firm has invested in such game-changing companies as Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU), and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Continue reading Al Gore sees VC green

Al Gore sees VC green originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Aerohive buzzes with $20 million originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.