ZNGA Zynga Inc

Legendary Silicon Valley investor John Doerr is relinquishing his partner role at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the venture-capital firm that helped usher in the Internet boom largely because of his early bets on Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

Mr. Doerr will take on a new role as chairman of the firm, focused on recruiting and coaching its next generation of leaders, he said Thursday. Mr. Doerr will step aside from day-to-day management of the firm but said he still will be involved with investing in future funds.

Kleiner Perkins' three most veteran partners, Ted Schlein, Beth Seidenberg and Mary Meeker, will share leadership of the firm's investments, he said. Kleiner Perkins currently is raising a new fund, people familiar with the matter say.

Mr. Doerr, 64 years old, made himself and Kleiner a fortune as one of the first institutional investors in Google and Amazon during the dot-com era. But in the ensuing decade, his firm also lost money on massive bets in clean-technology companies such as solar-panel producer MiaSolé and electric-car maker Fisker Automotive.

Kleiner largely missed the rise of social media and mobile technology and had to play catch-up with later-stage investments in companies such as Facebook Inc., Snapchat Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. The firm's early investments in startups currently valued at $1 billion or more include data-storage company SimpliVity Corp. and mixed-reality startup Magic Leap Inc.

In an interview, Mr. Doerr said he has worked to build a team of investors at Kleiner Perkins who are well-equipped to lead the firm at a time when the venture business is more competitive than it ever has been.

"It's easier now than ever to start a new venture and harder than ever to build a durable company," Mr. Doerr said. "There is more capital, entrepreneurs are more discerning, more demanding and that all makes for more efficient, more effective markets."

Mr. Doerr is changing roles at a time of uncertainty in tech startup investing. Venture-capital funds in the first quarter have raised money at the highest rate in more than 15 years, according to Dow Jones VentureSource, even as some investors have grown more cautious and marked down the value of some prominent companies.

As a firm, Kleiner Perkins also is rebuilding its identity in the wake of a high-profile sexual-harassment lawsuit last year brought by Ellen Pao, one of its former female partners and a proté gé e of Mr. Doerr. A jury found that Kleiner didn't sexually discriminate or retaliate against Ms. Pao. But the six-week trial, which included Mr. Doerr's testimony, exposed business secrets and infighting among Kleiner's partners, and put a spotlight on gender diversity in the venture-capital business.

Mr. Doerr joined Kleiner Perkins in 1980, after holding various roles at Intel Corp. as the chip maker helped lay the groundwork for the personal computing industry. As an investor, he said some of the proudest moments of his career came when he helped entrepreneurs solve a key problem early in their development.

He said he introduced Google's co-founders to Bill Campbell, an executive coach who helped shape them into leaders; helped Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos secure a convertible debt financing around 1999, when the e-commerce company was on the verge of bankruptcy; and assisted Intuit's Scott Cook with his decision to transition into a role as chairman of the company he co-founded.

Mr. Doerr will continue to invest in startups and keep his board seats, which include Google, gaming company Zynga Inc. and renewable energy firm Amyris Inc.

"Usually in a tech company when someone becomes chair they are kicked upstairs and that is an exit," Mr. Doerr said. "One thing I hope is very clear is I'm going to spend more time on the people and the work I love because my daughters are off to college."

Michael Moritz, Mr. Doerr's longtime friend and counterpart at Sequoia Capital, in 2012 stepped back from management of the firm due to an illness and took the title of chairman. Mr. Moritz has continued investing, leading Sequoia's deals in startups such as grocery-delivery company Instacart Inc. and fitness-tracking app Strava Inc.

"The prospect of John spending more time investing spells big trouble for people like us who have to compete with him," Mr. Moritz said in an email. "Nobody does it better than L. John Doerr."

Write to Douglas MacMillan at douglas.macmillan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 31, 2016 18:55 ET (22:55 GMT)

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