• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

2

Meet a 71-year-old who retired as a radiologist and professor, and now runs a banana-skewer business: ‘I never want to retire. Why would you do that?’

3

Elon Musk’s DOGE swiped $329 million in humanitarian funding from Nepal, leaving a Gen Z tech revolution to transform the budding country’s economy

1

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

2

Meet a 71-year-old who retired as a radiologist and professor, and now runs a banana-skewer business: ‘I never want to retire. Why would you do that?’

3

Elon Musk’s DOGE swiped $329 million in humanitarian funding from Nepal, leaving a Gen Z tech revolution to transform the budding country’s economy
FinanceTerm Sheet

Why VC Firm Kleiner Perkins Wants to ‘Return to Its Roots’ With a New $600M Fund

By
Polina Marinova
Polina Marinova
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Polina Marinova
Polina Marinova
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 1, 2019, 9:13 AM ET
Google source logo
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is trying to re-brand into the Kleiner of the past.

The storied venture firm announced it has officially raised $600 million for its 18th flagship fund. The fund will focus on early-stage investing across sectors including consumer, enterprise, hard tech and fintech.

“As we deliberated our strategy and studied our history, the answer was clear: we’re going ‘back to the future’ returning to Kleiner’s roots,” reads a Kleiner blog post.

Ironically, there isn’t much of the old Kleiner DNA left at at the firm to help it return it to its roots.

In December, Kleiner general partner Eric Feng announced he would leave the firm after more than three years of investing in early-stage consumer startups. Partners Lynne Chou-O’Keefe and Beth Seidenberg also left earlier last year.

This means only two of the original five GPs who were part of the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers XVII fund are staying on for the latest fund. Ted Schlein and Wen Hsieh will lead the venture fund alongside relative newcomers Mamoon Hamid (ex-Social Capital) and Ilya Fushman (ex-Index Ventures).

“If you look at the history of Kleiner, it was a very small firm focused on backing entrepreneurs at the earliest stages,” Fushman, who has been at Kleiner for 10 months, tells Term Sheet about the latest fundraise. “That’s what we want to do. We want to do it in a boutique-style now, which is very-high touch.”

The “boutique style” approach comes four months after news that Mary Meeker, along with the rest of Kleiner’s growth investment team, would spin out of the storied firm and raise their own $1.25 billion fund called “Bond.”

Of course, it’s obvious why Kleiner wants to “return to its roots” — early-stage is where the big money is made. The 47-year-old firm used to be a hit machine, making investments in the early rounds of knockout companies that went on to become industry titans. But Kleiner’s glory days ended years ago.

The firm missed the early window on some of the biggest deals that defined the last decade — Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Returns across its early-stage practice have suffered as a result, according to return data obtained by Term Sheet.

A limited partner, who has invested in several of Kleiner’s previous funds but did not participate in the latest flagship vehicle, views Kleiner as a brand new firm because of the composition of the team. They tell me, however, the turnover at the firm is a positive given the stretch of mediocre returns that the early-stage team has delivered to its investors over the last decade.

Behind its flashy ‘Back to the Future’ slogan, Kleiner’s reality is that it’s a new team with a new strategy. A lot is riding on this $600 million fund as this is likely the firm’s last attempt at re-gaining the momentum and relevance it once had.

This article originally ran in Term Sheet, Fortune’s newsletter about deals and dealmakers. Sign up here.

About the Author
By Polina Marinova
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Finance


Most Popular

Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

    Latest in Finance


    Most Popular

    © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
    FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.