Bill Draper, Early Silicon Valley Investor, Dies at 98
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 30
Bill Draper, Early Silicon Valley Investor, Dies at 98
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 30
Summary
Bill Draper died Sept. 8 at his home in Atherton, California, at 98, his daughter Polly Draper confirmed.
Starting in the early 1960s—before “Silicon Valley” was even a common term—he became one of venture capital’s pioneers through firms including Sutter Hill Ventures and Draper Richards.
His early bets included Activision, Skype, OpenTable, Qume and Corbin-Farnsworth, reflecting a career that helped build an industry now worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Draper had arrived in California in 1959 to join Draper, Gaither and Anderson, regarded as the first venture capital firm west of the Mississippi River.