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Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has joined one of Silicon Valley's best-known venture-capital firms.
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Wednesday said Powell joined the firm earlier this month as a strategic limited partner, a new position created especially for him.
Noted venture capitalist Vinod Khosla is a partner at the firm.
In that role, Powell, will offer strategic advice to the firm and its portfolio companies, according to John Doerr, a general partner at the Menlo Park, Calif., venture firm.
Powell is not expected to sponsor new investments or join the boards of companies on a regular basis, the firm said.
As a limited partner, however, Powell will have a financial stake in Kleiner Perkins. "I have a position in the company and in their funds," he said in an interview.
Powell, 68, resigned as secretary of state in November 2004. Previously, he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Since leaving the government in January 2005, he said he has considered various business opportunities and was approached in March by Doerr.
"I have known John Doerr and a number of the other Kleiner Perkins partners for years," Powell said.
He recalled: "John Doerr said, 'Let's talk about what we might do together.' So I went out and visited with Google and spent some time with some of their other investments."
Powell said that led him to conclude "I could make a contribution to what Kleiner Perkins is doing. They thought likewise."
Powell said he will retain his base in the Washington area but plans to visit the West Coast regularly and work via videoconference.
He described his role as "neither a rainmaker nor a lobbyist" but rather mentor and coach. He said he expected to offer strategic advice on leadership and organizational issues.
"From time to time, Kleiner Perkins will ask me to visit the companies under consideration, give my assessment of various parts of the world," Powell said.
He added that he will not look for venture deals but "if anything comes my way, I'd certainly refer it to them."
Powell said he is especially interested in health care, alternative energy and what he called the "search-engine revolution -- how best to use information technology not just for America but for the rest of the world."
He said he acquired "something of a background" in the technology business while at the State Department where he oversaw the installation of broadband technology for that branch of the federal government.
The tenure of his son, Michael, as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission also brought technology issues "into the home," he said.
Powell served on the board of America Online before its merger with Time Warner Inc. He also is an investor in and a board member of Revolution Health Group, a Washington-based health care venture launched by former AOL co-founder Steve Case.
Besides his activities on the national lecture circuit, Powell is a partner in the Washington Baseball Club, a group bidding on the Washington Nationals baseball team.
Kleiner Perkins began retooling its 21-member investment team more than a year ago as it raised its 11th $400 million fund.
Over the past six months, the firm has added three new partners: Technology guru Bill Joy, best-selling author and professor Randy Komisar, and former Guidant Corp. executive Dana G. Mead Jr.