Founded in 2004 by Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures is the Menlo Park firm famous for taking science-risk bets that most venture firms won't touch. It was the first outside investor in OpenAI, and its motto — "bold, early, impactful" — describes a portfolio that spans artificial intelligence, biotech, healthcare, climate and frontier technology. For Indian founders, the firm's most relevant bet is Sarvam AI, the Bengaluru sovereign-AI startup in which Khosla Ventures is an early and continuing investor.
Investment thesis
Khosla Ventures invests where the technology is unproven but the market could be enormous: breakthrough science and engineering rather than incremental software. Its track record includes standing behind companies through long, difficult build cycles, from Rocket Lab to QuantumScape to Guardant Health. The firm has published thinking on AI's potential to expand "universal access, increased equity, and global influence for India" — a signal its India interest is deliberate, not incidental.
Funds, stages and cheque sizes
Khosla Ventures invests from seed through growth, with LP disclosures describing equity cheques in the range of $1 million to $30 million. In 2023 the firm closed $3.1 billion across three vehicles — a $1.6 billion main fund, a $500 million seed fund and a $900 million growth fund. In October 2026, Bloomberg reported the firm was targeting up to $5.5 billion for its next funds — its largest ever — with roughly $1 billion for seed, $2 billion for early-stage and $2.5 billion for an opportunity fund.
Notable portfolio
The firm's highest-profile wins include OpenAI, DoorDash, Square, Nutanix, Rocket Lab and Guardant Health. Its India portfolio is anchored by Sarvam AI: Khosla Ventures backed the company in its $41 million early round alongside Lightspeed and Peak XV Partners, and stayed in for the June 2026 $234 million Series B first close led by HCLTech and Bessemer Venture Partners, which valued the company at about $1.5 billion. A subsequent $75 million tranche from NVIDIA and Glade Brook Capital took Sarvam's total funding past $350 million. Founded in August 2023 in Bengaluru by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, Sarvam builds Indian-language foundation models and sovereign AI infrastructure, and was selected under the government's IndiaAI Mission.
People
Vinod Khosla remains founder and driving force, joined by founding partners Samir Kaul and David Weiden, managing director and CTO Sven Strohband, and managing director Keith Rabois.
Programmes / credits and perks
The firm's signature support is what it calls "venture assistance": partners work with founders on technology, hiring and strategy through difficult technical journeys. It publishes extensive essays and research on AI, climate and societal infrastructure, but does not publicise startup credits or perks programmes.
How to engage
Khosla Ventures backs founders anywhere in the world, and the Sarvam investment shows it will lead or anchor deep-tech rounds for India-based teams building genuinely hard technology — particularly AI infrastructure and foundation models. Pitches should lead with the breakthrough, not the market sizing deck: this is the firm to approach when your technology is real, risky and potentially transformative. Warm introductions from portfolio founders or technical peers carry weight.
Why it matters for founders
If you are building in AI, deep tech or climate with real science risk, Khosla Ventures is one of the few firms that prices that risk as an opportunity rather than a problem. Its Sarvam backing proves Indian AI builders can access tier-one Silicon Valley capital — but only if the technology ambition matches.