Vinod Khosla, one of the best-known venture capitalists in Silicon Valley and a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, has made his first senior hires for the consulting and venture capital firm he set up recently.

Khosla, who was a general partner of the venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, will use his own money to invest alongside Kleiner Perkins and will retain a close relationship with the firm where he has spent 20 years.