Apple faces billionaire Vinod Khosla in AliveCor heart monitoring lawsuits

There’s an unwritten rule for technology startups: Never challenge Apple in court if you want to survive.

The world’s most valuable company has a track record of success in a long string of David versus Goliath battles over cutting-edge, life-changing technologies. But billionaire Vinod Khosla is no lightweight. He’s one of Silicon Valley’s most celebrated venture capitalists, and he’s used to playing long odds on the startups he backs.

Khosla Ventures LLC put itself on a collision course with Apple Inc. when it moved into the personal health and fitness space a decade ago and invested in AliveCor, a maker of cardiac monitoring devices and software.