Silicon Valley venture capital pioneer Dick Kramlich, an early investor in Apple, dies at 89

Dick Kramlich, the task superior pioneer who co-founded New Enterprise Associates astir 50 years agone and built it into a Silicon Valley powerhouse that regularly raised billion-dollar-plus funds, died connected Saturday. He was 89.

His decease was abrupt and "he didn't person a agelong illness," his daughter, Christina Kramlich, confirmed to CNBC, adding that the household volition supply much details soon.

"We've mislaid our warm, curious, ever-optimistic household leader," she said.

Long earlier task capitalist was an established profession, Kramlich saw the opportunity, to put immoderate currency successful tech entrepreneurs and nett alongside of them, assuming they were successful. He'd enactment immoderate of his ain wealth into Apple earlier joining with Chuck Newhall and Frank Bonsal to commencement NEA successful 1977, a fewer years aft dense hitters Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins opened their doors successful Menlo Park, California.

Kramlich deed it large successful machine networking, penning an aboriginal cheque to 3Com, which Bob Metcalfe started arsenic a mode to commercialize Ethernet technology. The institution went nationalist successful 1984, and soared to a valuation of implicit $28 billion during the dot-com bubble of 2000. 3Com's exertion was yet bypassed by products from Cisco and others and the institution was purchased by HP successful 2010 for $2.7 billion.

Elsewhere successful the space, Kramlich invested successful Grand Junction, started by a 3Com co-founder, and saw that institution done to a 1995 sale to Cisco. And past determination was information halfway networking institution Force10 Networks, which was acquired by Dell successful 2011.

"So we've gone from the precise inception of the Ethernet done to its becoming the ascendant protocol of the net for web communications," Kramlich said successful a 2006 interview with oral historiographer Mauree Jane Perry.

Kramlich besides backed companies including, Macromedia, Ascend Communications and Juniper Networks. In the fusion powerfulness market, Kramlich invested successful TAE Technologies, and sat connected the committee until the time of his death.

Kramlich retired from NEA successful 2012, astir the clip the steadfast raised $2.6 billion for its 14th fund, 1 of the biggest ever astatine the clip successful the industry. But helium wasn't done with investing.

In 2017, Kramlich started Green Bay Ventures to put successful companies processing exertion and products successful manufacturing, energy, transportation, logistics, existent property and communications. He launched Green Bay with Anthony Schiller, who started managing Kramlich's household wealth successful 2011, and Casey Tatham, who was moving concern for the household office.

The steadfast was named aft the Wisconsin municipality wherever Kramlich was calved successful 1935. Kramlich's dada started a nutrient concatenation determination and his ma became an aeronautical engineer. After moving astir Wisconsin arsenic a kid, Kramlich went to assemblage astatine Northwestern and past moved to the Boston country to prosecute a Masters successful Business Administration from Harvard.

Following concern school, Kramlich got into the satellite of investments successful Boston, and yet met aboriginal Apple and Intel capitalist Arthur Rock. He moved to California and helped commencement Arthur Rock & Co. successful 1969. Eight years later, Kramlich splintered disconnected to commencement NEA, with operations successful Baltimore, Maryland and Silicon Valley.

Scott Sandell, NEA's enforcement chairman, joined the steadfast successful 1996. He said helium was moving arsenic a advisor and met Kramlich aft pitching a startup to the firm, initially successful the Baltimore office. His vocation trajectory rapidly changed, and alternatively than raising wealth for the startup, helium landed a occupation astatine NEA and has remained for astir 3 decades.

"He was the crushed truthful galore of america joined," Sandell said successful an interview. "Dick was beloved by countless entrepreneurs and task capitalists due to the fact that of his undying optimism and perseverance against truly each odds. It was that tone on with his generous and gracious ways that made him much loveable than possibly immoderate task capitalist I've ever known."

Kramlich is survived by his girl Christina, arsenic good arsenic by his wife, Pam, and his different children, Rix and Mary Donna.