About DEFTA Partners
DEFTA Partners is a venture capital firm founded in 1984. It is primarily based out of San Francisco, United States. As of Dec 2024, DEFTA Partners has invested in 43 companies. It primarily invests in Series A round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Life Sciences to HealthTech and Enterprise Applications. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series A round of atDose Overall, DEFTA Partners portfolio has seen 2 IPOs and 8 acquisitions including key companies like Fortinet, Actuate Therapeutics and Acepodia. A lot of funds co-invest with DEFTA Partners, with names like Alexandria sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. DEFTA Partners has team of 10 people including 5 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series A, Seed & 3 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Soonicorns
DEFTA Partners' List of Top Investments
DEFTA Partners has a portfolio of 43 companies. Their most notable investments are in Acepodia and Inform Ai.Their portfolio spans across United States, Japan, Bangladesh and 2 more locations. They have invested in Life Sciences, HealthTech, Enterprise Applications and 9 other sectors, across stages such as Series A, Seed and 3 more. Here is the list of top investments by DEFTA Partners:1. Fortinet
Provider of cybersecurity solutions, services, and threat intelligence for enterprises. It offers a platform delivering network and cloud security, unified SASE, and security operations. The company provides services such as incident response, managed detection, and security awareness training. It also delivers operational technology security, including secure networking and ruggedized products.
Key facts about Fortinet
- Founded Year: 2000
- Location: Sunnyvale (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $1B+ as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $39M
- Employee Count: 16,491 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Meritech, ForgePoint Capital and 16 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Venture Debt, Mar 02, 2004, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
1WorldOnline is a content distribution platform that helps brands amplify content discovery and recommendations on their site, syndicate content from other publishers and create shareable content. Offers analytics on reader data and content performance. Offers a library of polls, quizzes, and surveys as templates, in addition to curating User Generated content. Also offers an integration with ad inventories for ad placement in addition to an option for customization. Secured a strategic investment of $4.9M from Brand Capital, the strategic investment arm of Bennett Coleman & Co.
Key facts about 1World Online
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: San Jose (United States)
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $18.1M
- Employee Count: 41 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: GVA, Altair Capital and 10 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Jan 22, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Developer of therapeutics for hard-to-treat cancer. It offers a lead drug candidate elraglusib a GSK-3β inhibitor that also modulates antitumor immunity to slow tumor growth and counteract resistance. It is used for the treatment of melanoma, pediatric cancer, pancreatic cancer, and others.
Key facts about Actuate Therapeutics
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: Fort Worth (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $72.2M
- Employee Count: 16 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Bios Partners, Tech Coast Angels and 4 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Jun 27, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Public
4. Acepodia
Acepodia is developing cancer immunotherapy using antibody cell conjugation technology. The company's proprietary immune cells are developed by combining novel and well-established targeting mechanisms using Antibody-Cell Conjugation (ACC) and Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) technology. It forms the antigen-antibody complex and helps to eradicate cancer cells. Its pipeline candidate includes ACE1702 is under the preclinical stage that will use to treat ovarian and breast cancer. Its other products include ACE1708 and AAT1805 to treat lymphoma.
Key facts about Acepodia
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Alameda (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $256M
- Employee Count: 60 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Ridgeback Capital Management, M Venture Investment and 10 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Jun 06, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Public
AI-driven platform transforming drug discovery and development for better patient outcomes. The company harnesses high-quality patient data and powerful Artificial Intelligence-driven technology to accelerate the creation of life-changing medicines. Through its Opal Computational Platform, it combines machine learning, tissue biology, and patient data to create a suite of powerful capabilities that bring the future of drug discovery and development to bear. It is a new kind of company, made possible by advances in technology and patient data and dedicated to advancing their combined power. The company is focused on innovating drug discovery and development in pursuit of better health outcomes for patients everywhere.
Key facts about TARA Biosystems
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $21.3M
- Employee Count: 11 as on Dec 31, 2022
- Investors: Acks, Korys and 14 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Jun 23, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
DEFTA Partners' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
DEFTA Partners has invested in 43 companies over the last 26 years, with an average of 2 new investments annually in the last 10 years. Its most recent first time investment was in atDose and most recent follow-on round was in DiA Imaging Analysis.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2024 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2021 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
2020 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
2019 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
2018 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
DEFTA Partners' Investments by Stage
DEFTA Partners has made 14 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $7.87M, 6 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $1.74M, 4 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $23.9M, 1 investment in Series C stage with an average round size of $33.6M and 1 investment in Unattributed stage with an average round size of $2M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series A | 14 |
Seed | 6 |
Series B | 4 |
Series C | 1 |
Unattributed | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
DEFTA Partners' Investments by Sector
DEFTA Partners has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Life Sciences, Enterprise Applications, HealthTech, Healthcare and High Tech. Notably, it has invested in 31 Tech companies, 30 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 13 Software companies and at least 8 companies focusing on Tech hardware.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Life Sciences | 12 |
Enterprise Applications | 8 |
HealthTech | 5 |
Healthcare | 3 |
High Tech | 2 |
Others | 6 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
DEFTA Partners' Investments by Geography
DEFTA Partners has made most investments in United States (17), followed by Japan where it has made 5 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 17 |
Japan | 5 |
Israel | 2 |
Bangladesh | 1 |
Switzerland | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
DEFTA Partners' recent investments
DEFTA Partners has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by DEFTA Partners:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec 13, 2024 | Japan | Series A | 6396 | - | |
Jan 17, 2022 | Japan | Seed | 5902 | - | |
Aug 24, 2021 | Japan | Seed | 4738 | - | |
Aug 24, 2021 | Israel | Series B | 5016 | [+8] | |
Mar 16, 2021 | United States | Series B | 5865 |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in DEFTA Partners' Portfolio
2 of DEFTA Partners' portfolio companies have become public. Actuate Therapeutics got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), in Aug 2024 at marketcap of $153M and Acepodia got listed on the Taipei Stock Exchange (TT).Here are DEFTA Partners' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 13, 2024 | May 13, 2019 | Series B | 5746 | |
Aug 08, 2023 | Mar 16, 2021 | Series B | 7750 |
Acquired companies in DEFTA Partners' Portfolio
8 companies from DEFTA Partners' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Fortinet in Aug 2026 by Virtue AI for $*****.Here are DEFTA Partners' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 17, 2026 | May 2002 | Series A | 1970 | |
Oct 31, 2023 | - | - | 6422 | |
May 08, 2023 | Aug 06, 2018 | Series A | 7070 | |
Mar 01, 2022 | Jun 23, 2020 | Series A | 3908 | |
May 07, 2008 | Feb 01, 2006 | Series B | 5906 |
Team profile of DEFTA Partners
DEFTA Partners has a team of 10 members including 5 Partners and 1 Principal located in China, Japan and 1 more location. DEFTA Partners' team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in DEFTA Partners:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Japan | - | ||
Partner | - | - | - | |
Partner | - | - | ||
Partner | - | - | ||
Partner | Hong Kong | - | - | |
Principal | San Francisco | - |
Co-investors of DEFTA Partners
Over the past 26 years, 121 investors have co-invested in DEFTA Partners's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before DEFTA Partners: HHS, Bios Partners and 29 others have invested in rounds before DEFTA Partners. There are 2 companies where HHS has invested before DEFTA Partners and 1 company where Bios Partners has invested before DEFTA Partners.
- Top Co-investors of DEFTA Partners: 57 investors entered a company along with DEFTA Partners. These include investors like Alexandria (2 companies).
- Invested after DEFTA Partners: A total of 33 investors have invested in DEFTA Partners's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Redpoint Ventures (1 company), Meritech (1 company) and Acorn (1 company).
Recent News related to DEFTA Partners
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AZTherapies Closes $33.6M Series C-1 FinancingFinSMEs•Oct 02, 2020•AZTherapies, Duopharma Biotech Berhad, Spinnaker Capital Group, ID FUND and 5 others
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Aegle Therapeutics Closes $6.5M Series A FinancingFinSMEs•Sep 30, 2020•Aegle Therapeutics, Tellus BioVentures, New World Angels, DEFTA Partners and 1 other
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Tara Biosystems Raises $10M in Series A2 FinancingFinSMEs•Jun 23, 2020•TARA Biosystems, Merieux Equity Partners, OMX Ventures, Lifeforce Capital and 6 others
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Actuate Therapeutics gathers $6.5 mlnPE Hub•Nov 12, 2019•Actuate Therapeutics, Bios Partners, Kairos Ventures, DEFTA Partners
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BioEclipse Therapeutics rakes in $7.7 mlnPE Hub•Jun 24, 2019•BioEclipse Therapeutics, Revelis Capital Group, Tsingyuan Ventures, DEFTA Partners and 2 others
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Actuate Therapeutics Completes $21.7 Million Series B FinancingPRWeb•May 16, 2019•Actuate Therapeutics, Tech Coast Angels, Kairos Ventures, DEFTA Partners and 1 other
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Savonix Closes $9.6M Series A Extension Round Led by Fusion Fund and Wavemaker PartnersBusiness Wire•Apr 25, 2019•Savonix, Fusion Fund, Wavemaker Partners, DEFTA Partners and 2 others
