Tony Blair joins Indian-born billionaire’s US firm

LONDON - Former British prime minister Tony Blair, who has landed a job as adviser to Indian-born billionaire Vinod Khosla’s US-based venture capital firm, says he shares a “clear vision” with the tycoon, “one of the earliest leaders in cleantech investment”.

Blair is to lend his expertise and “global relationships” to the California-based Khosla Ventures, which specialises in promoting environmentally friendly technology, The Guardian reported Tuesday.

Vinod Khosla is one of the founders of the computer firm Sun Microsystems. The 55-year-old tycoon has a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.1 billion. He says that the world should look for technological breakthroughs to find “clean” alternatives to oil, coal, cement and steel.

Blair said: “Solving the climate crisis is more than just a political agenda item - it’s an urgent priority that requires innovation, creativity and ambition.”

“I share a clear vision with Vinod, one of the earliest leaders in cleantech investment, that entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and beyond will have a tremendous impact on our environmental future,” a statement quoted Blair as saying.

His appointment to the Silicon Valley firm was announced Monday at a summit for the firm’s investors in Sausalito, near San Francisco, the media report said.

Blair told the Wall Street Journal that the job was “not a pro bono” role.

Khosla said the arrangement would allow him to “ask Tony for advice” and he told the WSJ: “Tony’s going to help us in many areas that techie nerds like us in Silicon Valley don’t understand.”