Kleiner Perkins
Silicon Valley VC founded 1972; backed Google, Amazon, Anthropic and co-led Granola's 2026 Series C.
Kleiner Perkins, the Sand Hill Road venture firm founded in 1972, co-led CuspAI's $450m Series B on 20 July 2026, its second UK-linked AI bet this year after backing Granola's London note-taking platform in March.
Last refreshed: 22 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
What does a Silicon Valley legend backing a London AI notes app say about where the best AI startups are building?
Timeline for Kleiner Perkins
Co-led CuspAI's $450m Series B
UK Startups and Innovation: CuspAI names 45 partners for lab accessMentioned in: State fund surfaces on CuspAI cap table
UK Startups and InnovationCo-led CuspAI's $2.6bn round
UK Startups and Innovation: CuspAI closes at $2.6bn, EU fund circlesSigned term sheets alongside Bezos Expeditions in CuspAI's raise
UK Startups and Innovation: CuspAI raising $400m on Bezos moneyMentioned in: Granola hits $1.5bn in three years
UK Startups and InnovationBackground
Kleiner Perkins was founded in 1972 by Eugene Kleiner and Tom Perkins and was the first venture firm to open on Sand Hill Road, credited with helping establish Silicon Valley's venture cluster. John Doerr became its defining investor during the dotcom era, backing Amazon and Google before either went public, and its historical portfolio runs from Netscape and Sun Microsystems to Genentech and Anthropic.
The firm co-led CuspAI's Cambridge-based Series B alongside New Enterprise Associates, closing on 20 July 2026 at a $2.6bn valuation with Bezos Expeditions, Britain's Sovereign AI Unit and returning investor Temasek also on the cap table . That followed its earlier co-lead, with Index Ventures, of Granola's $125m Series c in March, which pushed the London AI note-taking start-up to a $1.5bn valuation three years after founding .
Two Britain-facing bets inside four months, both alongside firms with UK footing rather than run solo, show Kleiner Perkins treating the country as worth partnering into rather than leading from Menlo Park; the firm has said it is raising a $3.5bn fund targeting AI across software, healthcare, transportation and autonomy, of which the CuspAI and Granola cheques are an early instalment.