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Khosla bets on clean tech, in spite of hiccups
Billionaire investor Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, crowed about the clean energy industry last year. Three of the biofuel start-ups in his venture capital portfolio had just gone public, and the stocks had risen considerably after their debuts.
Billionaire investor Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, crowed about the clean energy industry last year. Three of the biofuel start-ups in his venture capital portfolio had just gone public, and the stocks had risen considerably after their debuts.
Since then, Khosla has watched much of those paper gains evaporate. His stakes, once worth $1.3 billion, are now valued at $378 million.
Khosla appears willing to ride out the swings, in both directions. "I challenge anybody to claim that clean tech done right is a disaster," Khosla said at a conference. "We've generated more profits there than anybody has."
"He's a visionary who likes to make big bets on ideas that can really change the world," said Andy Bechtolsheim, who co-founded Sun Microsystems with Khosla 30 years ago.
