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One of tech’s most well-known investors, Steve Jurvetson, is being investigated by his venture capital firm in the latest sexual harassment allegation to land in Silicon Valley.
Draper Fisher Jurvetson, the VC firm he founded, said Tuesday it had launched an inquiry into Jurvetson a day after an entrepreneur alleged that “predatory behavior is rampant” at DFJ. The woman, Keri Kukral, did not name Jurvetson in her Facebook post.
“DFJ has never received a complaint about the professional conduct of any of our partners or investment professionals,” DFJ spokeswoman Carol Wentworth said in a statement to Recode. “Earlier this summer we became aware of indirect and second-hand allegations about one partner, Steve Jurvetson. We immediately opened an independent investigation, which is ongoing at this time.”
Jurvetson is the highest-profile VC to be recently accused of misconduct toward women.
Wentworth said Jurvetson was still working at DFJ as the investigation unfolds. Jurvetson and Kukral did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kukral’s post was first reported by The Information.
“Women approached by founding partners of Draper Fisher Jurvetson should be careful,” wrote Kukral, who runs a startup called Raw Science, which has not received DFJ funding in the past. “The situation I found myself in is personally atypical and I've not been in any other situation remotely like it. I was not seeking investment or trying to further my career.”
“My situation was grey and personal, not professional,” she wrote in a later Facebook comment. Kukral said she had been contacted by an attorney on behalf of DFJ.
Jurvetson is known for a few science-focused bets that have paid off handsomely for the firm. He sits on the board of two valuable ventures started by Elon Musk: SpaceX and Tesla. Those two companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment as to whether Jurvetson would remain on their boards.
Jurvetson is the latest prominent venture capitalist to be accused of sexual harassment. Allegations in Silicon Valley have already ousted several investors from their firms, such as Justin Caldbeck at Binary Capital and Dave McClure at 500 Startups.
And in recent weeks, sexual harassment scandals have rocked Hollywood as well, leading to the removal of Amazon video boss Roy Price and Weinstein Company chief Harvey Weinstein from their senior positions.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
