Silicon Valley entrepreneur Vinod Khosla offers to fund oxygen imports

India-born Silicon Valley entrepreneur Vinod Khosla has offered to fund hospitals in the country for importing oxygen supplies amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

“I'm willing to fund hospitals in India that need funding to import bulk planeloads of oxygen or supplies into India to increase supply. Public hospitals/NGOs also please reach out,” Khosla tweeted.


A severe shortage of oxygen in hospitals across Indian cities and towns has left thousands of patients gasping for breath as hospital capacities maxed out due to a sharp spike in new Covid-19 cases, prompting several investors and entrepreneurs take to social media platforms to pledge support and all kinds of resources to help hospitals and organisations to tide over the crisis.

Various people responded to Khosla’s tweet that went viral.

Sangita Reddy, joint managing director at Apollo Hospitals Group, called it generous and timely. “We are running two medical college hospitals mostly free and have free wards in most of our hospitals. Will reach out. Speed is of the essence,” Reddy tweeted in response to Khosla’s offer.

In a follow-up tweet, Khosla told one of the people that he has already donated for the cause. And in another tweet he urged the US administration to consider releasing Astra Zeneca vaccines to India.

“The AZ vaccine is unlikely to be ever approved in the US given current alternatives here. @Potus (President of the United States) should absolutely release all doses and future commitments for US supply since Moderna and @pfizer can supply US needs,” he tweeted.

Khosla, a cofounder of Sun Microsystems, founded Khosla Ventures in 2004. The IIT- Delhi graduate has also had a long stint at famed venture capital fund Kleiner Perkins as general partner.