April 2025
Case
HBS Case Collection

Kleiner Perkins (2019)

By: Jo Tango and Srimayi Mylavarapu

Format:Print
| Language:English
| Pages:13

Abstract

Kleiner Perkins, founded in 1972, quickly rose to prominence as one of Silicon Valley’s leading venture capital firms, earning a reputation for early investments in industry giants like Google, Amazon, and Citrix. However, a bold, strategic pivot to cleantech investing in the mid-2000s, combined with leadership turnover and internal cultural tensions, challenged the firm’s performance and identity. By the 2010s, Kleiner shifted its focus back to technology, this time through growth-stage investments, marking a departure from the early-stage focus that had defined the firm's initial success. Furthermore, a proposed acquisition of Social Capital exposed deeper questions around succession and the firm's long-term strategy. In an increasingly competitive VC landscape, where peers had continued to make strides, would Kleiner be able to reclaim its status as a leading tech investor and successfully navigate its next chapter?