kleiner perkins

Billions of dollars of electricity is wasted annually by inefficient power-conversion systems. But a fledgling company called Transphorm believes its technology can cut electric bills significantly -- and hike mileage for hybrid electric cars and boost output flowing from solar panels.

That's the value a $200 million venture investment led by Kleiner Perkins this week implies. But that means Twitter would have a price-to-sales ratio of 840 compared to Facebook's 26 -- or Google's 8.7. And Twitter's growth may be stalling.

The high-powered Morgan Stanley investment queen's move is indicative of the declining role Wall Street is playing in Internet and mobile technology markets and the diminished impact the Street has on this lucrative, fast-growing field.

In the biggest Blogwatch ever, some of day's top stories for investors, including how the Beatles on iTunes could have huge significance for the stock market; why insider trading might be difficult to prosecute; and the best IPOs of 2010.

Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook are among partners in a $250 million fund run by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers that will support entrepreneurs creating social-media applications and services.

Shopkick's smartphone app combines location-based features with shopping. The hot startup's plan: When you walk into any partnering retailer, the app will alert you to deals at that store, and reward you with "Kickbucks" just for being there.

It's barely been a week since a media frenzy marked the public launch of Bloom Energy, which makes a mini power plant known as Bloom Box for homes and businesses. Now, as critics take a closer look at the technology, it seems the bloom is off the box. Kleiner Perkins, the VC firm that backed the project, is learning a lesson about the pitfalls of investing in early-stage clean energy companies -- and raising the question of who should be backing basic energy research.