Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Is There Any Growth Left in Information Technology?

Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla may have the largest cleantech portfolio in Silicon Valley, but he made his fame and fortune as an IT guy. So does the about-face mean IT growth is officially dead? Not if you pick and chose wisely. Khosla cites his investment in Aliph, the company that makes the Jawbone Bluetooth headsets. It did $500,000 in revenues in 2006 and a whopping $140 million last year. Guess what? It’s still growing even in the recession.

In the final segment of our rare sit-down interview with one of Silicon Valley’s most renowned investors, Khosla talks about what he likes in IT these days and what kind of companies he’s avoiding. The former Sun-founder also gives his thoughts on the Sun-Oracle deal.

But it’s not just IT that’s changed. The venture business itself has grown and matured during Khosla’s multi-decade career as an investor, and not all for the better. His thoughts on why venture capitalists need to focus more on the “venture part” and less on the “capital” on the clip.