Pioneering Silicon Valley venture capitalist dies

Thomas Perkins, the billionaire founder of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, died Tuesday night at his home in Marin County, Calif. The 84-year-old died after a prolonged, unspecified illness.

Perkins is credited with helping grow Silicon Valley’s venture capital industry. His company had investments in AOL, Amazon and Google.

Perkins and other partners popularized an investment model that put small amounts of money into startups in return for a stake in the companies, giving them advice and counsel to spur their growth.

Read more from The New York Times.