Vinod Khosla
Founder·Khosla Ventures
Bio
Professional summary
Vinod Khosla is an entrepreneur, investor, and technologist. He founded Khosla Ventures to help entrepreneurs build impactful, disruptive technology companies. Earlier in his career he co-founded Daisy Systems and Sun Microsystems, where he served as founding CEO, then joined Kleiner Perkins as a general partner. His official profile highlights involvement in companies and ideas including Nexgen, Juniper Networks, Excite, and Cerent, and describes his current focus as mentoring entrepreneurs building companies around large societal challenges. He holds degrees from IIT Delhi, Carnegie Mellon University, and Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Investment focus
Stage, sector, and overall fit
Stage
Sector
Thesis
How to approach
Framing and angles for outreach
Pitch framing
Best suited for a bold, technology-led company addressing a large market or societal challenge with non-consensus ambition.
Partneralization hooks
- 1Frame the company around a large societal or economic shift rather than incremental optimization.
- 2Reference Khosla Ventures' stated preference for impactful, technology-based disruption.
Background
Career, education, and skills
Career history
- Khosla VenturesFounder & Managing Director2004 – Present
- Kleiner PerkinsGeneral Partner1986 – 2004
- Sun MicrosystemsCo-Founder & CEO1982 – 1986
- Daisy SystemsCo-FounderUnknown – 1986
Education
- Stanford University Graduate School of BusinessMBA, Business
- Carnegie Mellon UniversityM.S., Biomedical Engineering
- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) DelhiB.Tech, Electrical Engineering
Skills
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