Perry Ha is the founder and Managing Director of Draper Athena. He has been an active venture investor since 1997 and has invested and served on the board of many successful companies both public and private. His investment area spans across software, data analytics, semiconductors, cleantech, life sciences, AI, web3 and education. Having served as CEO at portfolio companies three times during his investment career, he brings his operational knowledge into his investments. He serves as an advisor or a board member at several companies. And, he is as the chairman of Juvenis, Inc. and Knowledge AI.

Prior to venture capital, he was a management consultant and advised global clients manage their technology portfolios and develop new products. Prior to that, he lead a product development team at Amicon, a life science devices company, which was acquired by Millipore in 1994. He was granted two patents during the R&D tenure.

He actively supports MIT who provided him the educational foundation to achieve the American dream when he was a recent immigrant. He chaired his Class Reunion Campaign for multiple years; served on numerous Visiting Committees; served on the MIT Board of Trustees as Chair of the Education Visiting Committee. He currently serves on Corporate Development Committee, Alumni Association Corporate Nominations Committee, and on the Leadership Board of MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research.

He actively supports Korean Americans. He is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences in Korea and the US; and mentors several Korean CEOs. He served as the Board Chair of KACF-SF (Korean American Community Foundation of San Francisco), is an advisor to the Bay Area K-Group, and is a founding Board Member of CKA (Council of Korean Americans). He is a Distinguished Honorary Professor at Sookmyung Women’s University and is a recipient of the Order of Civil Merit from the President of South Korea.

He earned BS and MS from MIT and MBA from Harvard Business School. He was the captain of his collegiate volleyball team and was selected to NCAA East Coast All- American third team. He is a life-long student and teacher of Taekwondo, a Korean martial art of which he is a certified master instructor. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.