Kleiner Perkins in AI Answers
How often AI platforms mention Kleiner Perkins when founders and operators ask about venture capital — and where the gaps exist.
Executive Summary
Kleiner Perkins holds a solid mid-tier position (#5 of 15 tracked VCs) in AI responses with 46.9% organic visibility in unbranded queries. The firm trails a16z (78%) and Sequoia (76%) meaningfully, but outperforms established peers like Benchmark and Greylock. The most significant finding is platform disparity: Claude shows KP in 91% of tests while Perplexity shows just 3%. Strongest categories are Thought Leadership (75%) and Consumer/Product (63%); largest opportunity areas are Investment Focus (25%) and General VC Landscape (39%).
Where KP appears (and doesn't) in AI responses
These cards show KP visibility across different question types that founders, operators, and LPs might ask. Each represents unbranded queries only — the true test of organic discovery.
Where AI gets its information about VCs
Understanding which sources AI platforms cite reveals where to focus content and PR efforts. These are the domains appearing across all 1,492 captured citations.
Sources with strong KP coverage
Ordered by total citations. These outlets have 20%+ KP co-appearance rates.
Where KP coverage is strong
These outlets show the highest likelihood of including KP when covering VC topics. Note that kleinerperkins.com also contributes 212 owned citations.
- Wired: 56% — highest co-appearance rate
- NYT: 35% — strong business coverage
- WSJ: 32% — highest volume among strengths
Implication: These relationships are working. Maintain engagement while focusing new outreach on opportunity areas.
KP vs peer VCs in AI responses
This ranking uses unbranded queries only — the true test of which VCs AI recommends when users don't specify a firm. Based on mention frequency across 128 unbranded tests.
How each AI platform treats KP
Significant variation exists across platforms. Understanding these differences can inform platform-specific content strategies. Based on unbranded queries only.
Key finding: The 87.5 percentage point gap between Claude (91%) and Perplexity (3%) is the most significant platform disparity observed. Perplexity relies heavily on real-time web search and startup database sites where KP has low representation. Claude appears to weight historical knowledge and authoritative sources more heavily.
Complete test results
Filter and explore all 188 individual tests. Each row represents one query tested on one platform.
| Query ↕ | Type ↕ | Platform ↕ | Category ↕ | KP Mentioned ↕ |
|---|
How this analysis was conducted
- 47 unique queries tested across 4 AI platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini) for 188 total tests.
- Conducted November 2025 focusing on venture capital market positioning and discovery.
- Query mix: 15 branded queries (32%) for validation, 32 unbranded queries (68%) for competitive assessment.
- Categories tested: Thought Leadership, Consumer/Product, Reputation/Culture, Founder/Early Stage, Track Record, Value-Add, Climate/Sustainability, Enterprise/Tech, General VC Landscape, Investment Focus.
- 1,492 citations captured across 261 unique domains.
- Citation sources classified by type: VC official sites, business media, tech media, VC data platforms, startup resources, reference.
- Competitor tracking: a16z, Sequoia, Accel, Insight Partners, Bessemer, Benchmark, Lightspeed, Greylock, USV, General Catalyst, NEA, Khosla, Index Ventures, Tiger Global, Founders Fund.
Important limitations: This snapshot represents one point in time. AI responses vary with query phrasing, timing, and platform algorithm evolution. Results should be validated through additional methods and monitored over time to track trends rather than treated as absolute truth. The 96.7% branded accuracy (vs expected 100%) suggests 2 edge cases where KP wasn't mentioned in branded queries — this should be investigated. Platform disparities (particularly Perplexity) may reflect data source preferences rather than KP-specific issues.