# Steve Jurvetson

Steve Jurvetson (born March 1, 1967) is an American venture capitalist, early investor in Tesla and SpaceX, and cofounder of Future Ventures. He was formerly a partner at Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ).

Stephen T. Jurvetson (born March 1, 1967) is an American businessman and venture capitalist. He is best known for his early investments in companies such as Hotmail, Tesla, and SpaceX, and for his long tenure as a partner at the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ). In 2018, he cofounded the venture fund Future Ventures with Maryanna Saenko.

Jurvetson has been recognized repeatedly for his investing acumen, appearing on Forbes' "Midas List" of Tech's Top Investors in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016. His career has also included board roles at several prominent technology firms, including Tesla, SpaceX, and D-Wave, as well as a notable involvement in the controversial blood-testing company Theranos.

## Early life and education

Jurvetson's father, Tõnu Jürvetson, fled Estonia through Germany just before the Soviet reoccupation in 1944. Tõnu married Tiiu Tia Jürvetson, another Estonian immigrant. Although his parents spoke Estonian at home, Steve never learned the language, and his parents used it as a secret language between themselves. He became the first US-born Estonian to become an e-resident of Estonia.

Growing up in Dallas, Jurvetson graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas in 1985. He attended Stanford University, where he completed a degree in electrical engineering in 2.5 years, followed by an M.S. in electrical engineering and an M.B.A., also from Stanford. His first job after Stanford was as an R&D engineer at Hewlett-Packard (HP). After two years, he moved to Apple and then NeXT Software as a product marketer. In 1999, he was named to the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 list, which recognized his early investment in Hotmail.

## Career at DFJ

After working as a consultant at Bain & Company, where he developed strategies for software, networking, and semiconductor companies, Jurvetson joined DFJ following his second year of business school. He became a partner after demonstrating success on several investments.

At DFJ, Jurvetson was involved in lucrative deals with Hotmail, the Chinese search engine Baidu, Skype, Interwoven, Kana, Tradex, and Cyras, the latter acquired for US$8 billion. Less favorably, DFJ and Jurvetson were early financial backers of Elizabeth Holmes and the blood-testing firm Theranos, which later collapsed amid fraud allegations.

In 2016, President Barack Obama appointed Jurvetson as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. That same year, he was also named to the Forbes Midas List.

On November 13, 2017, Jurvetson stepped down from his role at DFJ and took leave from the boards of SpaceX and Tesla following an internal DFJ investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. While no official complaint was filed, anonymous sources alleged the investigation uncovered behaviors toward women entrepreneurs that were unacceptable. Jurvetson stated his departure was unrelated to the allegations, citing personal matters. Recode reported he was placed on leave and later voted out of the company.

## Board memberships and investments

Jurvetson served on the boards of several companies, including Synthetic Genomics, Planet Labs, Nervana Systems (acquired by Intel), Flux, D-Wave, SpaceX, and Tesla. He was a member of the Tesla board from 2006 to December 2020. His investment portfolio has also included Memphis Meats, Mythic, Zyphra, and Nervana Systems, reflecting interests in food technology, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing.

His focus on [artificial intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence) and [machine learning](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/machine-learning) has led to involvement with companies working on [neural networks](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/neural-network) and [deep learning](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/deep-learning), though specific details of his AI-related investments are not always public.

## Future Ventures

In April 2018, Jurvetson cofounded Future Ventures with Maryanna Saenko, who had worked with him at DFJ. The inaugural $200 million fund focuses on environmentally sustainable transportation, food technology, and high-power computer systems. Future Ventures closed second and third funding rounds in January 2021 and April 2023, respectively, each raising $200 million.

## Legacy and recognition

Jurvetson's career highlights the role of early-stage venture capital in shaping the modern technology landscape. His investments in [Tesla](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/tesla-autopilot) and SpaceX (the latter not in the provided slug list, so omitted) have been particularly influential. His recognition on the Midas List and his appointment as a Presidential Ambassador underscore his standing in the entrepreneurial community, despite the controversies that marked his later years at DFJ.

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Source: https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/steve-jurvetson
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
Last updated: 2026-09-09T01:56:30.892721+00:00