Draper Associates

Draper Associates is a seed-stage venture capital firm headquartered at 55 East 3rd Avenue, San Mateo, California, founded in 1985 by Timothy C. Draper. The firm represents four generations of Draper family venture capital expertise and manages approximately $2 billion in assets under management.

Draper Associates focuses on early-stage investments in transformative technology companies, with typical check sizes ranging from $250,000 to $5 million across pre-seed to Series A rounds. The firm invests broadly in sectors including artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, healthcare, blockchain, SaaS, cloud computing, fintech, and new media. More than 40% of Draper-backed ventures operate in AI, machine learning, and robotics.

The firm's portfolio includes some of the most recognized technology companies globally: Tesla, SpaceX, Skype (acquired by Microsoft), Baidu, Hotmail (acquired by Microsoft), Twitch (acquired by Amazon), Coinbase, Robinhood, Cruise Automation, Carta, and D-Wave. Draper Associates has backed over 60 unicorn companies. The current investment team includes Tim Draper, Billy Draper, and Andy Tang.

The firm is distinct from Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), a separate fund also co-founded by Tim Draper.