Draper Richards is a
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...
firm focused on
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
investments in U.S. technology companies. The firm was founded in 1996 by
Bill Draper, an early venture capitalist who had previously founded
Sutter Hill Ventures
Sutter Hill Ventures is an American private equity firm focused on venture capital investments in technology-based start-up companies. Founded in 1964, Sutter Hill is one of the oldest venture capital firms still in operation. Based in Palo Alto ...
, and Robin Richards Donohoe. The firm invests principally on behalf of the Draper Richards Foundation, a non profit organization.
Draper has been a founding investor in such notable companies as
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
(acquired by
Mediagenic
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
),
Apollo Computer
Apollo Computer Inc., founded in 1980 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, by William Poduska (a founder of Prime Computer) and others, developed and produced Apollo/Domain workstations in the 1980s. Along with Symbolics and Sun Microsystems, Apollo wa ...
(acquired by
Hewlett Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
),
Dionex
Dionex Corporation is an American company based in Sunnyvale, California. It develops, manufactures, sells, and services analytical chromatography systems for separating, isolating, and identifying the components of chemical mixtures. Such equipmen ...
,
Hybritech
Beckman Coulter Inc. is a Danaher Corporation company that develops, manufactures, and markets products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing. It operates in two industries: Diagnostics and Life Sciences. For more than ...
(acquired by
Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel ...
),
Integrated Genetics
Genzyme was an American biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since its acquisition in 2011, Genzyme (also known as Genzyme Transgenics Corp or GTC Biotherapeutics) has been a fully owned subsidiary of Sanofi. In 2010, Genzyme ...
(acquired by
Genzyme
Genzyme was an American biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since its acquisition in 2011, Genzyme (also known as Genzyme Transgenics Corp or GTC Biotherapeutics) has been a fully owned subsidiary of Sanofi. In 2010, Genzyme ...
),
LSI Logic
LSI Logic Corporation, an American company founded in Milpitas, California, was a pioneer in the ASIC and EDA industries. It evolved over time to design and sell semiconductors and software that accelerated storage and networking in data center ...
,
Measurex,
PowerReviews
PowerReviews is a technology company that provides software to brands and retailers that allow them to collect, display and analyse different forms of user-generated content (UGC) on their e-commerce websites.
The company's capabilities include ...
, Quantum,
Qume (acquired by
ITT Corporation
ITT Inc., formerly ITT Corporation, is an American worldwide manufacturing company based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company produces specialty components for the aerospace, transportation, energy and industrial markets. ITT's three businesses ...
) and
Xidex (acquired by
Eastman Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...
), among others.
Draper Richards History
(company website)
Draper Richards maintains an active philanthropic program through the "Draper Richards Kaplan Fellows" organization. The foundation is noted for providing early-stage grants to charity and community organizations, but demanding comprehensive business plans and other startup-like diligence and reporting.
See also
* William Henry Draper, Jr.
* Horace Rowan Gaither
Horace Rowan Gaither Jr. (1909 – April 7, 1961), was a San Francisco attorney, investment banker, and a powerful administrator at the Ford Foundation. During World War II, he served as assistant director of the Radiation Laboratory at M.I.T. In ...
*Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) is an American venture capital firm focused on investments in enterprise, consumer and disruptive technologies. In January 2019, DFJ Venture, the early-stage team, spun out and formed Threshold Ventures. DFJ Growth ...
, a venture capital firm founded by Timothy C. Draper
Timothy Cook Draper (born June 11, 1958) is an American venture capital investor, and founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ),
* Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
Started in 2002, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (DRK Foundation) is a global venture philanthropy firm supporting social enterprises.
History
The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Draper Richards, a venture capit ...
, a private foundation that invests philanthropic venture, founded by the same people
References
External links
Draper Richards
(company website)
Venture capital firms of the United States
Financial services companies established in 1996
Companies based in Menlo Park, California
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