10 Khosla Biofuel Bets
Vinod Khosla, the 52-year venture capitalist and founder of Khosla Ventures and Sun Microsystems, is leading Silicon Valley’s biofuel gold rush. Controversial to some (corn ethanol critics) and put on a pedestal by others (venture investors that follow his lead), he’s made at least 10 biofuel bets in recent years. While biofuels are facing a backlash at the moment — and Khosla himself drives a Lexus Hybrid — Khosla has invested significant money into supporting the industry.
| Company | Funding | Technology | Founded | CEO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cilion Goshen, Calif. |
$200M, Khosla Ventures, Western Milling, Virgin Fuels, Ron Burkle, The Yucaipa Companies | Converts corn into ethanol to power cars and trucks. | 2006 | Mark L. Noetzel, President and CEO |
| Hawaii BioEnergy Honolulu |
Khosla Ventures, Finistere Ventures | Researching the development of ethanol plants on Hawaiian islands. | 2006 | NA |
| Mascoma Corporation Cambridge, Mass. |
$39M, Khosla Ventures, Flagship Ventures, General Catalyst Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Vantage Point Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, Pinnacle Ventures | Producer of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass using microorganisms and enzymes. | 2006 | Bruce A. Jamerson |
| RangeFuels Broomfield, Colo. |
Undisclosed round from Khosla, plus a $75M grant from DOE. Is in “fundraising mode” with IPO dreams in 2008 | Uses a thermochemical process to turn biomass into synthetic gas and then fuel | 2006 | CEO Mitch Mandich |
| Coskata Energy Warrenville, Ill. |
stealthmode | |||
| Gevo Pasadena, CA |
Reported as $10M, Series B, Khosla Ventures, Virgin Fuels (specifically Virgin Green Fund) | An enzyme process, developed at Caltech, that convert biomass to next-gen biofuels like butanol, which can be used in the existing petroleum supply chain. | 2005 | Patrick Gruber |
| LS9 San Carlos, Calif. |
$20 million, Series B, Khosla Ventures, Flagship Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners | Uses synthetic biology to develop biofuels from traditional feedstocks that contain more energy than current biofuels, require less energy to produce and can be distributed through the existing petroleum infrastructure. | 2005 | No current CEO |
| AltraBiofuels Los Angeles, Calif. |
Over $415M from Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, Angeleno Group, Omninet Private Equity, Sage Capital Partners | Leverages various kinds of biofuel manufacturing processes. | 2004 | CEO Larry Gross |
| Amyris Biotechnologies Emeryville, Calif. |
$20 million series A, working on a $70 million series B, DAG Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and TPG Ventures |
Uses synthetic biology to create biofuels that can replace gas, diesel and jet fuel; its genetic processes are also used to deliver low cost anti-malarial drugs. | 2003 | CEO John Melo |
| Celunol, (now Verenium) Cambridge, Mass. |
Trades on the NASDAQ. Bought by Diversa for $150M+. Became Verenium this year. Reportedly raised more than $60M from Khosla Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, Charles River, Rho Ventures | Produces enzyme based cellulosic ethanol. | 1994 | CEO Verenium, Carlos Riva |