An Early Tech Backer’s Journey From Steve Jobs to Pete Buttigieg

Ben Rosen has had several careers—technology analyst, early venture capitalist, entrepreneur—any one of which would have made him notable. A New Orleans native educated at the California Institute of Technology, Stanford, and Columbia Business School, Rosen introduced Steve Jobs to Morgan Stanley and financed Compaq Computer, Lotus Software, and Electronic Arts. With his older brother, Harold, Rosen co-founded in 1992 a hybrid car engine company that employed J.B. Straubel—long before Straubel helped start Tesla Inc. In an interview at his home in Kent, Conn., Rosen, 86, looks back over his pathbreaking career and describes what excites him today. Here are some highlights.

MARTY SCHENKER: You were there at the crossroads of some historic developments.