Pierre Lamond
Encyclopedia
Pierre R Lamond is a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley
, who has specialised in semiconductors. He was a partner at Sequoia Capital
based in Menlo Park
from 1981 until he left to join Vinod Khosla
's Khosla Ventures
as General Partner in March 2009.
Lamond was born in France and he studied Electrical Engineering
at Toulouse University as an undergraduate, where he also received a Masters Degree in Physics. He then gained another Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University
. His first job was as an engineer with Transitron Electronics in 1957. In January 1962 he joined Gordon E. Moore's Fairchild Semiconductor
, before he left in 1967 to run that company's spin-off, National Semiconductor
, with Charles Sporck and Robert Widlar. At National Semiconductor they made the-then bold move of assembling all their microprocessors outside the US, in Hong Kong and Singapore. He has also been an executive at Coherent Radiation, where he was CEO until January 1976, and Advent Corp., a home-entertainment equipment company, where he was CEO from March 1976 until May 1977. He was chairman at Cypress Semiconductors until 1998. He is a past president of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists. He had intended to retire in 2009, but instead joined Khosla, who specialise in energy-related companies, after being impressed with their focus on investing in research-based ventures. He is still on the boards of the Sequoia companies Luxim, Santur, and Achates Power.
While at Sequoia he acted as a mentor for the founders of YouTube
. Despite being an early investor in several social network startups, he said in 2007 that "We're in Web 2.0 bubble in my opinion."
Lamond is married. His daughter is married to Mark Kvamme
of Sequoia, and his son David is an investor at Artis Capital.
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, who has specialised in semiconductors. He was a partner at Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...
based in Menlo Park
Menlo Park
Menlo Park may refer to:*Menlo Park, New Jersey, USA*Menlo Park, California, USA*Menlo Park, Pretoria, South Africa...
from 1981 until he left to join Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla is an Indian-born American venture capitalist and an influential personality in Silicon Valley....
's Khosla Ventures
Khosla Ventures
Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on early stage companies in the Internet, computing, mobile, silicon technology and clean technology sectors....
as General Partner in March 2009.
Lamond was born in France and he studied Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
at Toulouse University as an undergraduate, where he also received a Masters Degree in Physics. He then gained another Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. His first job was as an engineer with Transitron Electronics in 1957. In January 1962 he joined Gordon E. Moore's Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. is an American semiconductor company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1957, it was a pioneer in transistor and integrated circuit manufacturing...
, before he left in 1967 to run that company's spin-off, National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer, that specialized in analog devices and subsystems,formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The products of National Semiconductor included power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers,...
, with Charles Sporck and Robert Widlar. At National Semiconductor they made the-then bold move of assembling all their microprocessors outside the US, in Hong Kong and Singapore. He has also been an executive at Coherent Radiation, where he was CEO until January 1976, and Advent Corp., a home-entertainment equipment company, where he was CEO from March 1976 until May 1977. He was chairman at Cypress Semiconductors until 1998. He is a past president of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists. He had intended to retire in 2009, but instead joined Khosla, who specialise in energy-related companies, after being impressed with their focus on investing in research-based ventures. He is still on the boards of the Sequoia companies Luxim, Santur, and Achates Power.
While at Sequoia he acted as a mentor for the founders of YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. Despite being an early investor in several social network startups, he said in 2007 that "We're in Web 2.0 bubble in my opinion."
Lamond is married. His daughter is married to Mark Kvamme
Mark Kvamme
Mark Kvamme is a venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital in Silicon Valley.Mark joined Sequoia Capital in 1999. He currently sits on the board of LinkedIn, Mark Logic, Adbrite, Strongmail, Funny or Die and UJAM. He specializes in media, software and advertising services investments. Before Sequoia,...
of Sequoia, and his son David is an investor at Artis Capital.