Founders Fund
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Peter Thiel, Ken Howery, Luke Nosek |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Peter Thiel, Trae Stephens |
| Products | Venture capital funds |
| Website | foundersfund |
Founders Fund is a venture capital firm headquartered in San Francisco, established in 2005, and managing around $17 billion in assets as of 2025. It holds the distinction of being the initial institutional investor in Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Palantir Technologies, as well as an early supporter of Facebook. The partnership team comprises founders, early staff members, and investors from companies including PayPal, Palantir, Anduril Industries, and SpaceX.
The firm's portfolio includes significant investments across leading technology and innovation sectors, featuring companies such as Airbnb, Anduril, DeepMind, Rippling, Ramp, Spotify, Stripe, Neuralink, and Nubank.
Among the prominent current partners are Peter Thiel and Trae Stephens. The firm’s former partners include notable industry leaders like Brian Singerman, Keith Rabois, Cyan Banister, Ken Howery, Kevin Hartz, Sean Parker, and Bruce Gibney.
History
Founded in early 2005 by Peter Thiel, Ken Howery, and Luke Nosek, the firm launched its inaugural fund with $50 million raised from entrepreneurs and angel investors in January of that year. Sean Parker—Napster co-founder and former Facebook president—joined the team in 2006. By 2007, Founders Fund had secured a $220 million fund.
The third fund closed in 2010 with $250 million raised, followed by a fourth fund of $625 million in 2011. In 2014, the fifth fund was raised at $1 billion, bringing total assets under management beyond $2 billion.
In 2016, the sixth fund amounted to $1.3 billion, increasing total capital to over $3 billion. The seventh flagship fund and first growth fund were launched in 2020 with a combined $3 billion raise, pushing total assets above $6 billion.
By 2022, Founders Fund completed its eighth flagship alongside a second growth fund totaling more than $5 billion, lifting assets under management past $11 billion. However, due to market volatility in March 2023, the eighth venture capital fund was scaled back from roughly $1.8 billion to about $900 million.
In 2025, the firm finalized its third growth fund—Founders Fund Growth III—raising $4.6 billion focused on late-stage investment opportunities.
External links
- Founders Fund (official website)