Ebb & Flow

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers pulled in a tidy $800 million for two new funds, including $600 million for its KPCB XII fund and $200 million for its KPCB Pandemic and Bio Defense fund. The firm could have rolled all the money into one fund - LPs in the two funds are virtually identical - but Kleiner Perkins expects that the deal flow will be much more focused with its dual fund approach.

Partner Dana Mead said that by carving out a fund just for pandemic and biodefense products, the firm wanted to "put out a call to action and serve as a catalyst to also encourage government and other private investment. We also want to have the ability to hire talent specific to that fund." ...