Sven Strohband
Partner and Managing Director·Khosla Ventures
Bio
Professional summary
Sven Strohband is a Partner and Managing Director at Khosla Ventures. The firm describes him as an engineer at heart, focused on technologies that forge new industries and enable novel user experiences. He previously led technical diligence at Mohr Davidow Ventures across infrastructure IT and sustainability, worked on technical projects at Volkswagen's Electronics Research Lab, and was lead engineer and project lead for Stanford's Stanley autonomous car, which won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. He also co-founded and served as CEO of MetaMind, later integrated into Salesforce's Einstein AI product. His official profile lists Purdue and Stanford degrees and board roles including Waabi and ThoughtSpot.
Investment focus
Stage, sector, and overall fit
Stage
Sector
Thesis
How to approach
Framing and angles for outreach
Pitch framing
Lead with technical depth, category creation, and why the technology can unlock a new market rather than just improve an existing workflow.
Partneralization hooks
- 1Reference his engineering-led background and interest in novel user experiences.
- 2For robotics, autonomy, AI infrastructure, or frontier hardware, connect the pitch to his Stanley, MetaMind, Rocket Lab, Hermeus, or Waabi background.
Recent signals
What the partner has said or done recently
Official profile links to AI-related content and discussion of AI in the physical world.
Background
Career, education, and skills
Career history
- Khosla VenturesPartner & Managing DirectorUnknown – Present
- Mohr Davidow VenturesTechnical Diligence LeadUnknown – Unknown
- Volkswagen Electronics Research LabTechnical Project LeadUnknown – Unknown
- Stanford Racing TeamLead Engineer & Project LeadUnknown – 2005
- MetamindCo-Founder & CEOUnknown – Unknown
Education
- Stanford UniversityPh.D., Mechanics and Computation
- Purdue UniversityB.S., Mechanical Engineering
Skills
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