Midas ′08 Big Wins For Venture Capitalists Erika Brown 01.pdfVIP

Midas 08 Big Wins For Venture Capitalists Erika Brown 01.24.08, 6:00 PM ET BURLINGAME, CALIF. - Recent credit crunch and market woes be damned: Technologys most powerful deal makers have been on a winning streak. Companies that venture capitalists helped launch hauled in $34 billion from 86 public offerings and 304 acquisitions last year. The final quarter of 2007 saw 31 IPOs--more than any other quarter since 2000s third quarter--worth $3 billion. The Forbes Midas List shows just who ushered in all those billions. Our ranking considers venture-backed technology and life sciences companies that have gone public or been acquired in the past five years, as well as the amount of capital it took to get there and the level of involvement in a company by its investors and advisers. Topping our list this year is L. John Doerr, a star partner at famed venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers. Doerr led Kleiners investment in search behemoth Google. The company raised a total of $40 million in venture capital and reached a market capitalization of nearly $17 billion on its first day of trading--a 400 bagger even before the aftermarket run-up in the stock. Today Google is worth a staggering $178 billion. Doerr was also an early investor in, and adviser to, Tellme, a voice software shop sold in May to Microsoft for an estimated $800 million. These days Doerr spends much of his time aiding entrepreneurs and scientists who are creating alternative fuels, eco-friendly sources of power and electric vehicles, among other things. I worry that America will not be able to innovate fast enough in its policies and technologies to prevent the catastrophic, irreversible climate crisis. I want Kleiner to make major, measurable contributions to solving global warming. Its the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century, and a moral imperative, says Doerr, whose firm has invested in 26 energy-related investments. A third of the $1 billion KP has und