🦊/Investors

The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation

Foundation

Menlo Park · Pre-Seed–Series A · 57 people tracked

Find your way into The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation

1,929 people in our graph share verified history with the The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Chris Bischoffunlockedknows Joaquìn Gonzalo · together at INSEAD (overlapped)
knows the team · via Brown University
knows the team · via INSEAD
knows the team · via World Economic Forum
×2knows the team · via University of California, Berkeley
knows the team · via Brigham and Women's Hospital
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Investment thesis

DRK focuses on identifying exceptional early-stage social entrepreneurs and backing them with unrestricted, catalytic funding paired with intensive hands-on support. The foundation believes that early unrestricted investment in mission-driven leaders is the foundational building block for lasting positive social change. By helping organizations build capacity, DRK positions them to absorb larger downstream catalytic capital that amplifies their impact worldwide. Over more than two decades it has made nearly 280 investments, reporting hundreds of millions of lives impacted and billions in downstream funding catalyzed for its portfolio of impact-driven organizations.

Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.

Stage
Pre-Seed–Series A
HQ
Menlo Park, California, US
Leads rounds
Follows
Instruments
Grants · Equity
Founded
1999
Tracked investments
18

Team · 57 people

from the firm's website & curated & public directories
Nicole Gallant· Managing Director
Meg Rudy· Principalin
Tim Cho· Principalin
Elizabeth Berry Gips· Portfolio Advisor
Holly Kuzmich· Senior Advisorin
Nancy Huang· Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the CEO and Member, Operating Committeein
Pam Ingebrigtson· Senior Executive Assistant
Silmara Connors· Project Coordinator and Office Manager
Zeryn Sarpangal· Chief Financial and Administrative Officer and Member, Operating Committee

Founder mafia

2 people who came through The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation went on to found or lead other companies.

What they invest in

from 12 of 18 portfolio companies

Impact & Social Good ×7EdTech ×5AI & Machine Learning ×3Cleantech ×2Digital Health ×2GovTech ×2Mental Health ×2B2B Marketplaces ×1

HQs:India×2United States×2Ghana×1Jordan×1Netherlands×1South Africa×1

Who they back

founder profiles across 9 portfolio companies
67%
solo founders
6 of 9 mapped founding teams
27%
repeat founders
of 11 founders with career history

Founding team size:solo founder×62 founders×3

Where their founders studiedfrom 11 founders with education data

Harvard University ×2

What their founders studiedfrom 11 founders with field-of-study data

Business & Management ×3Computer Science ×2Economics ×2Finance & Accounting ×2Humanities ×2Social Sciences ×2

Where their founders worked beforefrom 11 founders with career history

Echoing Green ×2Massachusetts General Hospital ×2

Investments · 18 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path
Adalat AIadalat.aiin𝕏

Adalat AI develops AI and large language model solutions to address case backlogs and delays in legal systems, partnering with courts to provide voice transcription software tuned for legal terminology and Indian pronunciations.

AI & Machine LearningGovTechLegalTech

Utkarsh SaxenainArghya Bhattacharyain

Bravenbebraven.orgin𝕏

Braven is a national nonprofit that prepares college students from underserved backgrounds for strong first jobs after graduation through a semester-long career-accelerating course and ongoing support.

EdTechFuture of WorkImpact & Social GoodChicago, US

Aimée Eubanks Davis(Founder)in

Co-investorsSilicon Valley

Darseldarsel.tech

Darsel provides a personalized learning chatbot that teaches mathematics to students in low-resource settings through simple, text-based channels like SMS, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.

AI & Machine LearningEdTechAmman, JO

Abdulhamid Haidar(Founder)in

Co-investorsMulago FoundationY Combinator

Diverting Hatedivertinghate.orgin

Diverting Hate is an applied research nonprofit working to counter online radicalization by detecting real-time trends that lead young men toward hostility and redirecting them to healthier communities and resources.

Impact & Social GoodMental HealthSocial

Kaitlyn T.(Founder)inKaitlyn Tierney(Founder)in

Edulutionedulution.orgin𝕏

Edulution delivers foundational mathematics and literacy education to under-resourced learners across Southern Africa using offline technology paired with local learning assistants.

AI & Machine LearningEdTechImpact & Social GoodSouth Africa, ZA

Michael Wrayin

Co-investorsInjini

Energiesprong Global Allianceenergiesprong.orgin

Energiesprong is a network organization working to transform the building sector through net-zero energy renovations.

CleantechClimate TechConstruction TechEnergyPropTech

eWAKAewaka.techin𝕏

eWAKA develops electric mobility solutions for urban and last-mile logistics, serving businesses and riders with affordable and sustainable transportation options.

B2B MarketplacesCleantechLogistics & Supply ChainMobility & Transportation

Jimmy Tune(Founder)in

HackShieldjoinhackshield.comin𝕏

HackShield develops digital literacy and cybersecurity education programs for children, helping them safely and consciously participate in the digital world.

CybersecurityEdTechGaming

Co-investorsROM Utrecht Region

Imagine Worldwideimagineworldwide.org

DRK portfolio organization; 2025 Audacious Project grantee.

Co-investorsMulago Foundation

Indus Actionindusaction.orgin𝕏

Indus Action is a policy implementation organization that works to realize social protection policies designed to transform India's social fabric, focusing on enabling vulnerable citizens to access their legislated rights and social protection benefits.

GovTechImpact & Social GoodNew Delhi, IN

Tarun Cherukuri(Chief Executive Officer)in

Last Mile Healthlastmilehealth.orgin𝕏

Last Mile Health is an international NGO that strengthens community health systems in partnership with African governments to expand access to primary healthcare in remote and rural areas.

Digital HealthHealthtechImpact & Social GoodAccra, GH

Peter LuckowinRaj Panjabi(President Emeritus & Co-Founder)in

Co-investorsMulago Foundation

News Literacy Projectnewslit.orgin

A nonpartisan education nonprofit that provides news literacy instruction and resources to K-12 students and teachers across all 50 U.S. states, helping students develop critical thinking skills to identify reliable information and resist misinformation.

EdTechImpact & Social GoodMedia & EntertainmentWashington, US

Alan C. Miller(Founder)in

Shamirishamiri.coin𝕏

Shamiri operates a youth mental health care model that uses trained lay and semi-professional providers to deliver brief interventions, backed by software (shamiriOS and shamiriAI) that lets governments and partners run the program themselves.

Digital HealthImpact & Social GoodMental Health

Katherine Venturo-Conerly(Cofounder)inTom Osbornin

Co-investorsMulago Foundation

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

Collective EnergyDigital Public WorksFor The PeopleKaryaSmartStart

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation made?
The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation has 18 tracked investments.
What stage does The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation invest at?
The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
What sectors does The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation focus on?
The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation focuses on AgTech, Cleantech, Climate Tech, EdTech, FoodTech, Healthtech, Impact & Social Good, Sector Agnostic.
Where is The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation located?
The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation is headquartered in Menlo Park, US.
Does The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation lead rounds?
The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
Who does The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation co-invest with?
The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation most often shares deals with Mulago Foundation, Injini, Silicon Valley, among 4 tracked co-investors.

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