The largest residential founder fellowship in Silicon Valley for pre-seed.
San Mateo, CA
Joined August 2012
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It’s official. @DraperDragon $80m @OrionFund is open for business. And Draper University is leading the programs that help find and uplift the earliest builders.
The fund is built to turn Cardano's technical leadership into global, venture-scaled growth.
We are searching for the founders who will drive the next $3b in TVL.
> tier 1 first VC check (up to $90k)
> elite programming
> investor networking
> free housing in Silicon Valley
> leverage the massive Draper ecosystem in web3
Applications for our first cohort are now open. Link below 👇.
@Cardano_CF @Cardano
MEET THE F26 HERO TRAINING COHORT: ANTA BIOTECH
Meet the founders turning ambitious ideas into reality.
Over the coming weeks, we're introducing the startups and founders in Draper University's Fall 2026 Hero Training cohort. They’re bringing sci-fi ideas to life across space tech, AI, biotech, robotics, and beyond.
First up: ANTA Biotech.
The next biology lab might be on a spacecraft 🛰️
ANTA is developing portable, automated sample-preparation tools for genomic analysis where conventional laboratories cannot operate - from remote field sites to low Earth orbit.
Making samples analyzable on site could change how scientists work in extreme environments.
Meet Anjali Gupta, representing ANTA Biotech in the current Draper University Hero Training cohort.
Follow along as we introduce the founders building what comes next.
Excited to have you with us, Vlad!
gm from @draper_u
A few takeaways from my first days here:
➲ Comfortable rooms with everything you need
➲ Reliable Wi-Fi
➲ An inspiring campus environment
➲ Brilliant minds all around you
Will share more insights soon.
Draper University retweeted
Most dApps live on EVM chains, yet UTXO networks like Bitcoin & Cardano hold an enormous share of crypto’s value - held back only by fragmented dev tooling.
The next big opportunity isn't building another chain; it's unlocking the power of UTXO.
We're backing the builders closing that gap. @draper_u @DraperDragon @OrionFund @Cardano @Cardano_CF
DRAPER ASSOCIATES NAMED A 2026 FOUNDER-FRIENDLY INVESTOR BY INC.
What makes this recognition especially meaningful? It comes from the founders themselves.
For four generations, the Draper family has backed bold entrepreneurs willing to challenge the status quo, take risks, and build what others thought impossible.
From early investments in DocuSign, Robinhood, and Coinbase to supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs, the philosophy remains the same: back the people building the future.
At Draper University, we share that belief. We work with founders bringing science fiction to life, helping them turn breakthrough technologies into companies that can change the world.
Congratulations to @TimDraper, @Andytang, @michellebkwok, and the entire @DraperVC team on this well-deserved recognition!
Here's to the founders bold enough to build what comes next!
Read more: inc.com/profile/draper-assoc…
The Space Economy Needs More Than Rockets.
As access to orbit expands, an entirely new infrastructure stack has to be built around it. Launch is one layer, but spacecraft also need transportation, platforms, protection, servicing, and ways to operate for longer once they arrive.
That’s exactly where several Draper University Ventures portfolio companies are building:
🚀 SeaGate Space is developing offshore launch infrastructure, creating new options for where and how missions can reach orbit.
⚛️ Applied Atomics is working on advanced propulsion – the mobility layer that helps spacecraft and payloads move after launch.
🛰️ Symphony Space is building modular orbital infrastructure through its Adagio platform, designed to give payloads the power, communications, thermal management, and other systems they need to operate in space.
1/3 -> continue reading in the 🧵
🤖 ORBES is developing robotic spacecraft for inspecting and eventually maintaining orbital infrastructure, moving toward a future where expensive assets can be serviced rather than simply replaced.
🛡️ Melagen Labs is working on radiation shielding designed to protect electronics and critical systems against the extreme conditions of space.
What’s interesting isn’t just each company individually. It’s what they look like together: launch, mobility, platforms, protection, servicing. These are the kinds of layers that turn access to a new environment into an actual economy.
And we’re starting to see the pieces connect: ORBES and Symphony Space have already announced plans for Exo-ORB to fly aboard Symphony’s Adagio platform – an early example of different parts of the orbital infrastructure stack working together.
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The next space race isn’t only about who gets there first. It’s about who builds what everyone else will need once they arrive.
Rockets opened access to space, but infrastructure is what turns space into an actual economy. Ports. Transportation. Power. Protection. Maintenance. Platforms.
The same layers that allowed economies to scale on Earth now have to be built in orbit. And a new generation of DraperU Ventures founders is building them.
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DraperU × @Cardano Apex Growth Accelerator is off to a strong start! 💪
Apex Growth Accelerator is wrapping up week 2. Week 1 alone: the cohort raced around SF, brought in $4,000 in a sales challenge (the most of any team), pitched for feedback ahead of Demo Day and finished with a survival experience alongside @TimDraper that founders called “life changing.” Some of them are Genesis alumni, back for the next stage.
8 weeks to go with @draper_u and @Cardano_CF.
@KenomicAI @raycotarrida @caralvmar, @chatterpay @tomasdm_eth, @AscentRivals: @realgUbGuuB, @Ospree_io: @JavierTamashiro, @origamitech_ @korrom18, @NOMADZxyz @ivan_nomadz @vlad_nomadz, @MentionedMarket @taylorferran, @MasumiNetwork @Padierfind / @samizb @Andytang
What’s one industry you can’t believe still works the way it does?
What would you change first and why? Share your thoughts in the comments👇
BEFORE IT WAS OBVIOUS: DOCUSIGN
Today, signing a contract from your phone feels completely normal.
In the early 2000s, it didn’t.
Agreements still moved through printers, scanners, fax machines, couriers, and email attachments. The workflow was slow, but familiar enough that most people accepted it as simply how business worked.
@DocuSign’s bet was that the signature itself could become digital infrastructure: send a document, sign it securely from anywhere, and keep the entire agreement process online.
That sounds obvious now precisely because the behavior became so universal. But replacing paper wasn’t just a product problem. The company had to overcome habits, security concerns, legal questions, and the simple inertia of a process businesses had used for decades.
@DraperVC and @TimDraper backed DocuSign as part of a portfolio built around technologies that challenged entrenched ways of doing things. Today, DocuSign has become synonymous with electronic signatures and expanded far beyond signing into broader agreement management.
Why it matters for builders: innovation doesn’t always require inventing a completely new behavior. Sometimes the opportunity is hiding inside a process everyone already uses – but nobody has bothered to make dramatically easier. The fact that people tolerate friction doesn’t mean they want it.
Two founders from the DraperU Ventures portfolio made it onto Payload’s 2026 Pioneers list. 🚀
Congratulations to Muhammad Hunain, founder of Melagen Labs, and Anna Shaposhnik, founder of ORBES!
Muhammad is developing radiation shielding and testing infrastructure to help spacecraft withstand harsh environments. Anna is building autonomous space robots for filming and inspection.
Different challenges with a shared ambition to make more possible in space. We’re proud to back founders building the infrastructure the next space economy will need.
Meet the 2026 Payload Pioneers: payloadspace.com/category/pa…
Great to see the founders of our DraperU x @Cardano Apex Growth Accelerator making the most of their Silicon Valley experience!
An amazing week one of Apex with @draper_u and @DraperDragon is complete, and week two is underway. Thank you @raycotarrida! @TimDraper what an inspiration for all.
The momentum feels right, and we’re ready to turn it into our next stage! Go @KenomicAI.
You learn a lot about your cofounder when you’re both pushed outside your comfort zone. 💪
Proud of the @KenomicAI team for taking on Survival Weekend together. Now back to building!
Kenomic’s founders, before and after Survival Weekend with @draper_u.
Roc Ryder and an incredible team of instructors pushed our limits and showed us how much it means to have a team beside you.
So much respect for them, and pride in what we took on together.
Draper University retweeted
Week #1 of our 33rd @draper_u cohort is thru!
Our founders just got back from survival … don’t believe anything you hear
Draper University at @TechCrunch Disrupt! 🚀
Our team, Tessa and Shajeha, spent time connecting with investors, founders, and ecosystem partners at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco.
From meeting new investors to exploring opportunities for our upcoming VC dinners, we're excited to keep building connections across the startup ecosystem.
Great to see the DraperU team out there making things happen!
Space is becoming infrastructure.
Years ago, @TimDraper and the Draper ecosystem backed @SpaceX early, when private space transportation itself was still a radical idea. At the time, one of the biggest challenges in commercial space was simply getting to orbit reliably and at a lower cost.
SpaceX helped change the economics of launch and made access to orbit dramatically more frequent and reusable. That progress created a new set of problems and opportunities.
Once getting to space is no longer the only challenge, the question becomes what happens after launch. How do spacecraft move once they’re there? Where do payloads live? How do we protect orbital assets, inspect them, repair them, and keep them operating for longer?
That is the shift we’re watching now. The next generation of space companies isn’t only building rockets. They’re building the systems, platforms, services, and infrastructure required for an actual economy to function beyond Earth.
Across the Draper University Ventures portfolio, founders are already working on different pieces of that future.
The first era of commercial space was about access. The next is about what we build with it.
Draper University retweeted
Okay I'm going offline to be in the wilderness for 4 days. Not sure why, not sure how but it's part of the Accelerator. See you soon. Hopefully.
Two programs kicked off at Draper University this week: Hero Training and the DraperU x @Cardano Apex Growth Accelerator! 🚀
Our founders have arrived on campus, ready for weeks of building, growth, fundraising, and making connections in Silicon Valley.
Excited to welcome our new Hero Training cohort and the Apex Accelerator founders joining us in partnership with @Cardano_CF and @OrionFund!
A few moments from their first week on campus 📸
Welcome to DraperU. Let’s get to work!
Draper University retweeted
A week ago, we put our AI lie detector to the test at an event hosted by @BitAngels, and even @aalicbarker from @draper_u got flagged! 👀
Beyond the fun, our CEO @ye_dennis shared @aiseerco's journey from being backed by @TimDraper to building technology that explores human intent, and gave attendees a chance to try our lie detector firsthand.
Big thanks to @AWS for the event space and everyone who joined us!
@Hashlock_ @motiontrademm @CoinMarketCap @LitecoinVM @CryptoniteUae @CryptoniteUae
🎬 Here’s a little recap of what went down!
Good luck, team! 🔥 This is going to be an incredible experience! Can’t wait to hear all the stories when you’re back!
Trading pitch decks for survival mode. 🏔️🔥
As part of the Apex Program with @Draper_U, we're heading into the California mountains for 5 days of survival training with ex-Navy SEALs.
No phones. No Wi-Fi. Off the grid.
Wish us luck. 🫡
