Founders Fund
Peter Thiel's venture firm backing contrarian bets on hard science and technology that can change the world.
Founders Fund is built around Peter Thiel's contrarian philosophy that seeks to fund 'flying cars, not 140 characters' and hard scientific breakthroughs rather than incremental apps. The firm is 'founder-maximalist' and has never removed a single founder as CEO, unlike conventional VCs who remove roughly half of founders within three years. Founders Fund is renowned for its high-conviction, hands-off investment approach. While there are no traditional public testimonials, insights from portfolio companies reveal the impactful role Founders Fund plays in their growth and success. Miles Kruppa revealed that Founders Fund was sitting on a more than $19.5 billion gain from its investment in SpaceX since it started investing in 2008—more than its total assets under management! This is the fund that basically prints money through contrarian bets while everyone else chases social media unicorns.
- —Best for: Ambitious founders building hard tech, defense, or 'impossible' things that reshape industries
- —Watch out for: Highly selective - they back conviction over consensus and expect founder-level ambition
- —Known for: Never removing founders as CEOs, SpaceX-level returns, and Peter Thiel's contrarian philosophy
The fund's core thesis centers on backing revolutionary technologies and founders willing to build products that reshape entire industries. They back revolutionary technologies and visionary founders who think in first principles, investing across all stages when conviction exists.
The firm is stage-agnostic, investing across early and late stages, but shows a trend towards larger, concentrated late-stage investments, as seen in its third growth fund aiming for $460 million per company across about 10 companies. Founders Fund has increasingly emphasized hard tech and defense, reflecting a strategic shift away from social media investments. This focus is evident in major investments in SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, and Neuralink.
Co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was also the first outside investor in Facebook. At the heart of Thiel's power, influence, and wealth is Founders Fund. No organization has benefited more from his singular abilities, and those of the team he has assembled, than the venture firm. Known for contrarian investing philosophy and living in Los Angeles.
Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on autonomous systems, and Co-founder of Sol, a next generation wearable e-reader. Previously, he was an early employee at Palantir Technologies. Has played an important role in co-founding and developing companies incubated at the Founders Fund, including Anduril Industries, Varda Space Industries, and Valinor Enterprises.
Chief Marketing Officer of the venture capital firm Founders Fund and the founder of media company Pirate Wires. In 2020, Solana founded Pirate Wires, a newsletter-turned-website focused on technology. An October 2024 profile in The Atlantic described Solana as 'The most opinionated man in America' for his writings in Pirate Wires.
Currently the sole female partner, also the COO, who leads all non-investment activities from legal to finance. Key operational leader managing the fund's non-investment functions and overall operations.
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