kleiner perkins caufield & byer

From Twitter to big-time venture capitalist in just two months.

Mike Abbott, who recently stepped down as vice president of engineering for Twitter, has joined the prestigious Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a general partner.

Abbott will focus on Kleiner's digital practice, helping startups involved in social, mobile, and the cloud. A key part of his role will also be to help portfolio companies hire talent, which in the Valley these days is a constant and expensive struggle.

While at Twitter, Abbott amped up the engineering team from 80 to more than 350 people in less than a … Read more

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.--Six years into green-tech venture investing, Kleiner Perkins continues to see the potential for green technologies to leapfrog incumbent energy systems, according to tech luminary Bill Joy.

In an onstage interview today at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference here, Joy said Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, where he is a partner, seeks out disruptive technologies that could change energy much the way that technologies, such as PCs and mobile devices, shook up the IT industry.

The famed Silicon Valley venture capital company, which funded Amazon, Google, and many other IT companies, has made about 60 green-tech investments, … Read more

You've heard of turning recycled plastic bottles into floor carpeting or clothing. How about back into oil?

Tigard, Oregon-based Agilyx said that it has raised $22 million in a series B round to further develop a process for converting plastics into a synthetic oil, which can be refined for transportation fuel or used to make plastic or other oil-based goods. The round was led by Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers which joined venture capital firm Chrystalix and corporate investors Waste Management and Total Energy Ventures International.

The company has developed a multi-step process which it says can convert about … Read more

BOSTON--Solasta, a quiet Boston-area company, says it's a few steps ahead of the many researchers trying to design flexible solar cells using nanotechnology.

The company is now in the process of seeking a Series B round of venture capital in the range of $20 million with a target of starting production by the end of next year, said chief technology officer and co-founder Michael Naughton here on Friday.

Solasta was spun out of Boston College and raised a $6 million Series A round in 2006 from venture capital company Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers in a deal led by … Read more

DETROIT--Venture investor and former Oracle president Ray Lane argued on Wednesday that U.S. is losing out to other countries in emerging energy technologies.

Lane, now a partner at famed venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, said that the U.S. needs to view clean-energy technologies as a way to rebuild a shaky economy and position the country for long-term growth.

He spoke at the Business of Plugging In conference here on Wednesday, where many speakers emphasized the benefits of electric vehicles to reduce oil imports, cut carbon emissions, and revitalize the ailing auto industry.

But Lane made … Read more

The creaking electricity grid got a shot in the arm on Tuesday from venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which is leading a $75 million investment in smart-grid start-up Silver Spring Networks.

The money will fund the company's expansion globally, Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr said in a statement. He called implementation of the smart grid "one of the most important clean-technology initiatives of the coming decade."

It's one of the first investments doled out from KPCB's $500 million Green Growth fund, established earlier this year with money earmarked for the costly task … Read more

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers on Thursday announced the expected creation of a fund dedicated to growing green-technology firms.

The Silicon Valley venture capital firm said $500 million out of a larger $1.2 billion fund will go to "growth stage" green-technology firms that need additional capital to commercialize their work.

Kleiner Perkins established a $100 million green-technology fund in 2006 for start-up seed funding. This Green Growth Fund will make investments of $10 million to $50 million to ramp up existing companies, Kleiner Perkins executives told The Wall Street Journal.

The structure of the fund reflects one … Read more

To many Americans with family members serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, the most wished-for holiday gift is simply a visit with their far-off loved ones.

Ustream.TV, a start-up that lets people stream live video to the Web, is planning to help military families connect through the Internet this holiday season.

The company has given Webcams to people who have family stationed in Iraq, so they can access the Ustream service and take part in a video chat.

Ustream, headquartered in Los Altos, Calif., has a strong military background. Co-founders John Ham and Brad Hunstable met each other while attending … Read more