Comments on: Steve Jurvetson: Only investing in the unknown

If other people are investing in it, Jurvetson thinks it's passe. He keeps coming back for more tech he doesn't understand.

[angeloj.rossi]

Way to go Steve J! Keep supporting the fringe industrial complex. I f I hear Steve Jurvetson correctly, innovation will come when you least expect it from where you least expect it. In between the technology rifts and shifts like tremors and geological plates, moving, shifting. Yeah! Great stuff!

[rafe]

"Fringe Industrial Complex..." love it.

[kgsbca]

Skype makes about $1.25 per user per year in revenue - if all they had to do was put up a static website, that might be impressive, but running voice gateways (for their paid calls), while not real expensive, isn't free. Skype was a giant success for its' founders, but not for its buyer, ebay, who has lost hundred of millions of dollars on buying and operating it. If Skype was as disruptive as some people think, ATT and Verizon wouldn't still be the anti-competitive giants they still are in the post-Skype world.

Hotmail was a success for the founders, but I doubt if it has generated any profit for its buyer. Microsoft felt compelled to offer free email, and hotmail was a way to buy a bunch of customers who don't actually pay for anything.

DVJ is one of the most over-rated VC firms. They do a great job of gaining visibility for their company, but as Jurvetson admits, he doesn't really know much about the companies he is investing in. Maybe he'll he want to buy credit default swaps, I hear they're very disruptive.

[ehumokay]

So basically, he's using hipster logic to invest. That will only work for so long...before you start your own investment firm that specializes in foam manufacturers.

[akvish]

(1) To find out who is tackling the 'unknown territories' is a tough business. Usually,
people who are treading in such risky waters are oblivious to VCs. Moreover, such unknowns
involve discoveries at basic sciences level. Typically, VCs do not fund at such levels of R&D
work.
(2) As for Moore's law: We may be moving away from "Paradigm Shift" that Moore's law inherently gets linked to. Technology is going through "Paradigm Flip". So, while Moore's law gives the basis, many
new unknown territories are opening up. These may not necessarily related to Moore's
law. Things beyond Moore's Law are surfacing & lack quantification similar to it. In fact these problems are quite abstract.
(3) 20th century proved a lot of technologies & so also unsustainable mess; but 21st century
is different. 21st century will question 20th century technologies, build on its mistakes
and go beyond.
(4) In the rush for market share, a lot of gaps were left between technologies and sciences.
These are surfacing now as 20th century backlog. We may have formidable triple opportunities
here - cleanup 20th century mess, fill the gap technologies & move onward into 21st century in
new territoris! VCs are yet to realise these, I think. Jurveton, looks like, is thinking in the
right direction as we may looking for real productive stuff and efficiency in all walks of life.