Khosla keeps funding biofuel maker Kior, for now
Beleaguered biofuel maker Kior has managed to close the financing it was hoping from investor Vinod Khosla, which will keep the company…
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Beleaguered biofuel maker Kior has managed to close the financing it was hoping from investor Vinod Khosla, which will keep the company…
Investor Vinod Khosla continues to pledge support for next-gen biofuel maker Kior. Despite the company missing its production targets, Khosla and his firm are pledging another $50M to help Kior double its production.
As Kior misses its production targets, sees its stock drop dramatically, and lists doubts in a filing about its ability to continue as a going concern, an investor hits the company with a potential class action lawsuit.
Companies that are still looking to produce biofuels from plant waste (and not corn) are making slow, but steady progress on milestones in 2013.
Cleantech VC investing is hard and Kleiner Perkins has made some not smart bets in the sector. But the overall trends of population growth and resources management are still strong and most VCs have now learned new investing styles like to follow the clean web.
Venture firms have a long history of partnering with high profile former politicians, to help grease the wheels of the regulatory frameworks. Khosla Ventures says it will work with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to help its startups in emerging markets.
Next-gen biofuel company KiOR has started up production of its biocrude at its plant in Columbus, Mississippi. It’s an important advancement for an industry that’s had major delays and setbacks.
KiOR, a next-gen biofuel startup backed by Khosla Ventures, says it will turn on its first factory next month and will churn out diesel and gasoline made from biomass (plant waste, wood, etc) before the end of the year.
In case you were wondering how KiOR, the biofuel company backed by Khosla Ventures, is coming along, the firm announced its fourth quarter and full 2011 year earnings on Monday. And yep, the company is still in a pre-revenue state.
One of the difficulties with investing in cleantech startups is that investors sometimes need to take very long term views of the companies they back, despite that companies can be risky. Next-gen biofuel company KiOR is a prime example of this long term, high risk phenomenon.
It’s official. Khosla Ventures, the firm of influential venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, has raised its $1.05 billion fourth fund and will still continue to invest as much money as it previously has done on cleantech startups.
Biofuel firm KiOR, which debuted on the Nasdaq this morning priced at $15 per share, also closed the day at $15 per share — in other words, as flat as a Britney Spear’s high note.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to join the board of biofuel startup KiOr in July. Not coincidentally, the news comes the week that KiOr is reportedly planning to official price its IPO, which could raise up to $241 million on the Nasdaq.
Yep, those USDA loan guarantees are still out there. INEOS Bio and its joint venture partner, New Planet Energy, announced this morning that they have received a $75 million conditional loan guarantee commitment from the USDA program.
Wow, for a biofuel startup few have heard of KiOR has raised a whole lot of money. According to an amended filing, KiOR, has now raised a whopping $110 million from backers including Khosla Ventures.