Californisch pensioenfonds financiert groen VC-fonds

Reports emerged last month that Vinod Khosla, the high-profile green venture capitalist and Sun Microsystems co-founder, was finally turning to outside investors to create two new funds that together would raise $1 billion to primarily back cleantech startups. Hard evidence has now surfaced about one of those funds in a June document (hat tip to peHUB from CalPERS. The California pension fund has committed to invest $60 million into what it describes as a fund that will focus on early-stage clean technology opportunities. The new fund, which according to the doc is now closed at $250 million, will also put some 25 percent toward information technology-focused startups.

CalPERS describes the investment with Menlo Park, Calif.-based Khosla Ventures as a potentially breakthrough opportunity to align itself at a meaningful scale with one of the most successful venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. Over the last five years, it notes, Khosla Ventures has developed market-leading knowledge in clean technology and its current portfolio is well diversified across a number of sub-sectors. CalPERS also says the investment could lead to a long-term relationship with the firm. .