The Altman Network

Investigation Events

Persons of Interest and Profiles

Sam Altman Self-Dealing & Conflict Architecture

John Doerr / Kleiner Perkins

Chairman of Kleiner Perkins; personal Series C investor in Formation Bio; backed Amazon, Google, and Intuit; serves on Google’s board; documented personal relationship with Michael Moritz (Sequoia/Crankstart, Formation Bio’s earliest and largest foundation holder); active healthcare AI investment thesis including OpenEvidence and Lumeris.

John Doerr is the Chairman of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the Silicon Valley venture firm he joined in 1980 after an engineering career at Intel. Over more than four decades, Doerr backed companies that became defining institutions of the internet era: Amazon ($2.2 trillion market cap), Google/Alphabet ($2.1 trillion), Intuit ($180 billion), and Uber ($151 billion). He also invested in Zynga, Coursera, DoorDash, Bloom Energy, Slack, and Netscape. Larry Page has said Doerr “sees the future first.” Doerr served on Google’s board for decades and on Amazon’s board until 2010. He is the author of “Measure What Matters” (OKRs) and “Speed and Scale” (climate action). He served on President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness [7] [8] [9].

Doerr transitioned from General Partner to Chairman at Kleiner Perkins in 2016, stepping back from day-to-day fund management but continuing to lead deals, maintain board seats, and serve on the firm’s investment committee [10].

Doerr is listed as a personal investor in TrialSpark’s Series C (September 2021), the Altman-led round. On the Crunchbase investor data, Doerr appears as a named individual alongside institutional participants (ArrowMark, Dragoneer, Casdin, Spark, Thrive, Sequoia, Sound Ventures, S32). Whether this investment was made through a Kleiner Perkins vehicle, a personal vehicle, or a family office is unspecified. His TipRanks investment portfolio shows active 2025 healthcare/biotech investing including a $126 million Series C in an unnamed healthcare company and a $55 million healthcare investment, confirming that healthcare remains an active thesis [11] [12].

The Doerr-Moritz Relationship

In 2008, Doerr and Michael Moritz (Sequoia Capital) delivered a joint keynote in which they took turns asking each other personal questions. They discussed their co-investment in Google, their family backgrounds, how they entered venture capital, and lessons learned from mentors like Andy Grove (Intel) and Don Valentine (Sequoia). The format — intimate, reciprocal, personal — demonstrates a relationship that extends well beyond professional co-investment [13].

Both Doerr and Moritz invested in Formation Bio’s Series C, the Altman-led round. Moritz’s involvement through Crankstart Foundation is extensively documented (see: Moritz/Crankstart profile) with holdings that jumped from $4.3 million to $75.1 million as a result of the Series C repricing. Doerr’s involvement as a personal investor in the same round places two of Silicon Valley’s most legendary investors — who have a documented multi-decade personal and professional relationship — on the same capitalization table in a company led by Sam Altman, who is deeply connected to both of their networks.

The co-investment pattern is not unique to Formation Bio. Doerr and Moritz co-invested in Google, and their firms (Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia) have co-invested across dozens of companies over decades. But in the Formation Bio context, the question is whether these investments represent independent due diligence arriving at the same conclusion, or network-driven capital following Altman’s lead into a deal surfaced through shared relationships.

Healthcare AI Portfolio

Doerr’s recent investment activity shows a sustained healthcare-AI thesis:

CompanySectorYear
OpenEvidenceMedical information platform2025
LumerisValue-based healthcare2014
NunaHealthcare technology2015
Formation Bio/TrialSparkClinical trials / pharma acquisition2021

OpenEvidence (backed since 2025) is particularly relevant — it is a medical information platform that uses AI to support clinical decision-making. Doerr’s interest in AI-enabled healthcare is not limited to Formation Bio but extends across the healthcare-AI value chain from clinical information (OpenEvidence) to value-based care delivery (Lumeris) to clinical trial acceleration (Formation Bio).

Obama Administration Connection

Doerr served on President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. This connection to Democratic political networks intersects with the broader political layer of the Altman network: Natalie Foster (OpenResearch advisory board) was Obama’s Digital Director; Joshua Kushner (Thrive Capital) identifies as a “lifelong Democrat” and attended the Women’s March; Sam Altman himself has significant Democratic political connections. The Altman network’s political relationships span both parties (Kushner family → Trump administration; Doerr/Foster/Altman → Obama/Democratic networks) [14].

Nodes / Open Questions

  • Was Doerr’s Formation Bio Series C investment personal, through a Kleiner Perkins vehicle, or through a family office?
  • Does Doerr hold a board seat or advisory role at Formation Bio?
  • Doerr’s OpenEvidence investment (2025) — does OpenEvidence use OpenAI technology? If so, Doerr has positions in both a healthcare AI company and in Formation Bio (which partners with OpenAI for healthcare AI).
  • Kleiner Perkins was an early Anthropic investor — does this create another cross-competitive position alongside Spark Capital and Sound Ventures?
  • The Doerr-Moritz personal relationship + co-investment in Google + co-investment in Formation Bio Series C — did either introduce the other to the Formation Bio deal, or did both arrive independently through Altman?
  • Doerr’s climate tech portfolio (Bloom Energy, cleantech investments) — any intersection with the Altman network’s energy investments (Helion, Oklo)?

Sources

  1. [Archive] (https://smartasset.com/financial-advisor/arrowmark-colorado-holdings-review)
  2. [Archive] (https://www.foundersuite.com/firms/arrowmark-partners)
  3. [Archive] (https://www.cbinsights.com/investor/arrowpoint-partners)
  4. [Archive] (https://unicorn-nest.com/funds/arrowmark-partners/)
  5. [Archive] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemzaki)
  6. [Archive] (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trialspark-rebrands-as-formation-bio-continuing-its-commitment-to-advancing-drug-development-innovation-302006328.html)
  7. [Archive] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Doerr)
  8. [Archive] (https://techcrunch.com/?p=1187529)
  9. [Archive] (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/26560)
  10. [Archive] (https://fortune.com/2016/03/31/john-doerr-kleiner-perkins)
  11. [Archive] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemzaki)
  12. [Archive] (https://fastly.tipranks.com/private-companies/investor/john-doerr)
  13. [Archive] (https://aletteraday.substack.com/p/letter-99-mike-moritz-and-john-doerr?open=false)
  14. [Archive] (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/26560)
  15. [Archive] (https://theorg.com/org/arrowmark-partners)
  16. [Archive] (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001065865/000103570403000660/d08927exv99w1.htm)
  17. [Archive] (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001065865/000095013404012523/d17812exv99w2.htm)
  18. [Archive] (https://www.bu.edu/law/journals-archive/bulr/volume87n5/documents/KAHAN_v2.pdf)
  19. [Archive] (https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2003/12/08/janus-junk-bond-fund-manager-quits/)
  20. [Archive] (https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2005/04/19/janus-manager-relinquishes-funds/)
  21. [Archive] (https://www.pionline.com/article/20050412/ONLINE/504120713/karen-reidy-will-resign-as-portfolio-manager-of-the-janus-balanced-and)