Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla is making aggressive impact investments in energy alternatives. This piece in the Economist profiles Khosla's approach and philosophy about impact investing in environmental solutions to climate change.

From original article:

"Mr. Khosla has a different plan to save the planet. He is investing over $1 billion of his clients' money in "black swans" - ideas with the potential for sudden jumps in technology that promise huge environmental benefits, easy scalability and rapid payback. The catch? Mr. Khosla expects nine out of ten of his investments to fail.

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"Although Khosla Ventures' two funds are fully subscribed, and have invested about $1.3 billion in over 40 companies, billions more dollars and many more start-ups will be needed to hatch a flock of black swans. Mr. Khosla estimates that the amount of investment required to replace all the petrol consumed in America with renewable fuels will run into the hundreds of billions of dollars. But other high-tech venture capitalists seem to be steering clear of risky green investments."

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