Khosla's portfolio is developing a new engine type that is 50 percent more efficient at less cost than today's engines.

Judge as of December 2010. True: a Khosla Ventures portfolio company (for example EcoMotors) was then developing a new engine type (a new architecture, not an incremental tweak) that the company's technical materials or independent tests described as about 50% more efficient than comparable conventional engines and cheaper to make. Mostly true: such an engine was in development, but the documented efficiency gain was somewhat below 50% (about 35–49%) or the cost advantage was stated less firmly. Mixed: such an engine was in development, but only one of the two claims (about 50% efficiency, lower cost) is supported. Mostly false: an engine was in development, but its documented or targeted efficiency gain was far below 50% (under about 30%), or the engine was not a new type. False: no Khosla portfolio company was developing such an engine at the time.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Former VW powertrain chief builds super-efficient engine Motor Authority · 3 August 2009

   “According to Hofbauer, a new opposed-piston opposed-cylinder (OPOC) engine design that he has come up with is 30% lighter, one-quarter the size and achieves 50% better fuel economy compared to today's state-of-the-art conventional turbo-diesel engines.”

2. E2 Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures Inject $23.5 Million Into Engine Startup EcoMotors Fast Company · 12 July 2010

   “EcoMotors builds a lightweight, high-efficiency, low-cost combustion engine that supposedly offers 50% greater fuel efficiency than similar conventional engines.”

3. E3 EcoMotors Revs Its Engine With $23.5 Million Series B Funding From Bill Gates And Khosla Ventures | TechCrunch TechCrunch · 12 July 2010

   “The engines are designed to work with existing infrastructures to easily replace engines like the four-stroke combustible engines used in many passenger cars. They will also be less expensive than these engines.”

4. E4 EcoMotors Truck Engine - AI Online - AI Online · 1 July 2010

   “Hofbauer explained that the inherent lower friction and thermal losses in the engine account for 15% fuel efficiency gain vs. conventional diesels, then an additional 35% gain is realized from complete shut down of one of the two engine modules via a clutch system at moderate and low load conditions.”

E2 and E3 (July 2010) report that Khosla Ventures funded EcoMotors, which was building a low-cost, high-efficiency combustion engine described as about 50% more fuel-efficient than similar conventional engines and cheaper than the engines it would replace. E1 shows the design was a new opposed-piston opposed-cylinder (OPOC) architecture. E1 cites Hofbauer claiming 50% better fuel economy than state-of-the-art turbo-diesels, and E4 breaks this into 15% plus 35%. These efficiency figures are the company's own stated claims, reported by the press, not results of independent tests. That is enough under the criteria, which accept the company's technical descriptions.