VC Firms Back Green Car Tech
By Matt Nauman
General Motors and Toyota are racing to put the first plug-in hybrid - a vehicle that allows home charging of the electric portion of its electric-gasoline powerplant - into production.
The companies didn't announce the amount of money, but Kleiner's Ray Lane told the Wall Street Journal that it was more than $10 million. This is the first major funding announced by the Menlo Park firm since former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore joined it.
Meanwhile, Khosla Ventures has invested in EcoMotors, a Detroit company working to create a 100-plus mpg diesel engine by 2011.
"We're focusing on powering the automotive fleet of tomorrow with fuel-efficient building blocks," said Vinod Khosla, founder and managing partner of the eponymous firm. Read the full story.