Founders Fund

❧

Wikipedia

Founders Fund
Company typeVenture fund
IndustryVenture capital
FoundedJuly 2005; 20 years ago (2005-07)
FoundersPeter Thiel
Ken Howery
Luke Nosek
Headquarters
Letterman Digital Arts Center
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Key people
Peter Thiel
Luke Nosek
Mike Solana
Trae Stephens
Lauren Gross
Scott Nolan
Napoleon Ta
AUMUS$17 billion (2025)
Number of employees
38[1] (2025)
Websitewww.foundersfund.com

Founders Fund is an American venture capital fund formed in 2005 and based in San Francisco. The fund has roughly $17 billion in total assets under management as of 2025.[2][3] Founders Fund was the first institutional investor in Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Palantir Technologies, and an early investor in Facebook.[4][5][6] The firm's partners have been founders, early employees and investors at companies including PayPal, Palantir Technologies, Anduril Industries and SpaceX.[7]

The firm's investments include Airbnb, Anduril, DeepMind, Rippling, Facebook, Ramp, Palantir Technologies, Pudgy Penguins, SpaceX, Spotify, Stripe, Neuralink, and Nubank.[8][9]

Notable partners include Peter Thiel, Trae Stephens, and Mike Solana.[10][11][12] Former partners include Brian Singerman,[10][13] Keith Rabois,[14] Cyan Banister, Ken Howery,[10] Kevin Hartz,[15] Sean Parker,[16] and Bruce Gibney.[17][18]

Funding history

Peter Thiel, co-founder of the Founders Fund, in 2007

The firm was organized by Peter Thiel, Ken Howery, and Luke Nosek in early 2005 and raised its first fund of $50 million from individual entrepreneurs and angel investors in January of that year.[19] Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster and ex-president of Facebook, joined in 2006.[19] In 2007, the firm raised a new fund of $220 million.[20]

In 2010, the firm raised its third fund, with $250 million in committed capital,[21] and in 2011, a fourth fund with $625 million of committed capital was raised.[22][23]

In 2014, Founders Fund raised a $1 billion fifth suite of funds, bringing the firm's aggregate capital under management to more than $2 billion.[24]

In 2016, Founders Fund raised a sixth, $1.3 billion fund, bringing the firm's aggregate capital under management to more than $3 billion.[25]

In 2020, Founders Fund raised a seventh flagship fund and its first growth fund, representing $3 billion in new capital and bringing the firm's aggregate capital under management to more than $6 billion.[26]

In 2022, Founders Fund raised an eighth flagship fund and its second growth fund, representing over $5 billion in new capital and bringing the firm's aggregate capital under management to more than $11 billion.[14]

In March 2023, Founders Fund cut the size of its eighth venture capital fund in half, from around $1.8 billion to around $900 million, to adapt to uncertain market conditions. This was the idea of Thiel, who thought "venture capital is due for a slimdown", which caused some resistance from inside the firm.[27][28]

In 2025, Founders Fund raised its third growth fund, Founders Fund Growth III, at $4.6 billion for late-stage investments.[29] Julie Bort of TechCrunch remarks that, "Founders Fund is so big and successful that it can always raise an oversubscribed fund should it choose to." The oversubsription seemed to anticipate an era of big VC spending, and also expansion of the defense sector.[30] Meanwhile, CNBC commented that, "Hefty amounts of private capital are likely to be needed for the foreseeable future as the IPO market remains virtually dormant".[31]

Philosophy and development

Trae Stephens at 2024 TechCrunch StrictlyVC event

The Founders Fund was conceptualized as an early-stage venture capital fund. From the start, it has adopted Thiel's contrarian attitude, and bet early and aggressively on companies with the founders it deemed deserving of trust. Early in its history, it made many investments in internet or social media and health and life science research, among which there were investments in Spotify, Airbnb, and Lyft.[32][33] By 2006, Jessica Guynn of SFGate characterized it as a tiny but influential fund focusing on consumer internet, standing beside Thiel's then extraordinarily successful firm Clarium Capital.[34]

Later, together with Thiel's disillusion with social media companies, the firm has gradually developed into a primary backer of hard tech and defense technology. In 2011, when the social bubble was still expanding, he complained, "Is Twitter worth $7 billion?" At this time, the Founders Fund had developed a portfolio in artificial intelligence, biotech and space technology. In 2017, it published the manifesto "What happened to the future?", written by Bruce Gibney. The manifesto denied that the Internet's potential had been exhausted, but emphasized that the Founders' Fund would focus on ambitious projects that resolved real challenges. The original subtitle was Thiel's famous motto "We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters."[35][36][37][38]

Julie Bort, the venture editor at Techcrunch remarks that it boasts perhaps the most formidable defense portfolio in the Silicon Valley.[30] The Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, America's Frontier Fund, as well as the leaders of these firms, namely Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen and Eric Schmidt, are often considered the dominance forces in the new defense tech domain.[39][40][41] Camden Mead writes on the website of the Utah Aerospace and Defense Association that, together with Andreessen Horowitz, the Founders Fund "has prioritized investing in revolutionary technologies, including various forms of autonomous vehicles. Both of these firms are relatively new to the defense space but are singlehandedly changing how traditional investors view the aerospace, deep tech, and defense ecosystem."[42]

The firm also turned to investing in companies in both early and later stages of development. Its first fund dedicated to late-stage startups was created in 2019.[43][44] At the annual meeting in September 2025, partners indicated the firm’s third growth fund would invest about $460 million per company (with a total of 10 portfolio companies), compared with $225 million in its second fund (with 15 companies) and $55 million in its first (with 31 companies), showing a turn towards concentrated late-stage bets.[45]

Structure-wise, there are three directors, each with powers to veto over any deals over $10 million.[46][47] It is known, though, as in his other companies, that Thiel prefers to surround himself with people who share his thinking and loyal to him, and often manages to steer them to partnership, as seen in the cases of Keith Rabois,[48] Sean Parker,[49] Max Marmer[50] or Trae Stephens.[51][1] The tech writer Mario Gabriele[52] writes that, "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."[53]

Thiel and other partners invest substantial amounts of their own money in the fund. Thiel contributed $38 million to the Founders Fund's Fund 1 (2005). In 2023, Thiel invested $920 million (27%). By late 2018, the firm was returning $4.60 to its investors on every dollar invested. The industry average of that year was $2.11.[54][53]

In October 2024, the Founders Fund hosted the invite-only "Hereticon: Apocalypse Ball", an event they described as "a conference for thoughtcrime", to display and celebrate "technologies and projects so ambitious, they will ultimately transform our world for the better – or destroy it". The invitation reads, "Maybe if you are not trying to destroy the world, you are not trying hard enough".[55][56]

The firm has a longtime rivalry with one of Thiel's other venture companies, Mithril Capital.[57]

In 2021, the Founders Fund opened a Miami office.[58]

Personnel

Ken Howery, co-founder, 2013

Founders

The Founders Fund was co-founded by Thiel, Howery, and Nosek.

Ken Howery, co-founder and former partner, was also a co-founder of PayPal and the Founders Fund's first chief financial officer. At the Founders Fund, he led or co-led investments in Facebook, Quantcast, ZocDoc and Geni. He is now a diplomat, having served as the U.S. ambassador to Sweden, and has been confirmed by the Senate as the next U.S. ambassador to Denmark [59][60] In his college years, he was the editor-in-chief of The Stanford Review, a student newspaper found by Thiel.[61]

In 2017, Luke Nosek, one of the co-founders, left the Founders Fund to establish Gigafund, which focuses on space technology and Musk companies like Neuralink and the Boring Company (initially it mainly focused on SpaceX). The other Gigafund co-founder, Stephen Oskoui, is also a former Founders Fund investor.[62][1] When at Founders Fund. Nosek led the investment in SpaceX and remains a board member ever since.[62] Nosek was instrumental in the investment, at a time SpaceX was vulnerable. Thiel was persuaded, partly out of the desire to mend his personal relationship with Musk due to previous problems at PayPal (Thiel had also previously refused to invest in Tesla – Musk thinks it was because of his skepticism of climate change].[63][64][65]

Current personnel

By April 2025, Peter Thiel, Napoleon Ta and Trae Stephens are listed as fund directors.[66][67]

Currently the sole female partner is Lauren Gross, also the COO, who leads all non-investment activities from legal to finance.[68]

Trae Stephens, also a partner, has played an important role in co-founding and developing companies incubated at the Founders Fund, including Anduril Industries (where he is now chairman), Sol (at one point Sindarin Inc.), which develops a wearable e-reader,[69][70] Varda Space Industries (co-founder, alongside Thiel fellow Delian Asparouhov and former SpaceX engineer Will Bruey; also director),[71] and Valinor Enterprises. In 2024, he co-founded Valinor alongside former Palantir's senior vice president Julie Bush (CEO), General Catalyst's Paul Kwan and Red Cell's Grant Verstandig.[72][73] The team is sourced from Palantir Technologies, Anduril Industries and Helsing. The firm also holds strategic relationships with these companies.[74][75] Valinor participates in Anduril's Lattice Partner Program,[76] and the two companies are also members of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium.[77] Stephens also sits on the board of Flexport (he led the Founders Fund's investment in the company).[78] Stephens had initially worked for Palantir. Alex Karp, the CEO, told him that he would not let Stephens meet Thiel because he would be poached from Palantir. Karp managed to keep the two separated for two years, until 2012. Stephens began to work for the Founders Fund in 2013.[1] The Founders Fund's $1 billion investment in Anduril's 2025 Series G is the fund's largest investment in history, and the $2.5 billion collected in total was the second largest sum invested in a defense company in 2025, only behind the aerospace company's $2.6 billion Series E.[79][80]

Ryan Petersen of Flexport is a partner. In 2016, reacting to Peter Thiel's support for Trump, Petersen said that he regretted to have accepted investment from the Founders Fund.[81] In 2023, he decided to join the fund though.[82]

Delian Asparouhov is currently a partner.[83] A Thiel fellow, he founded the space company Varda Space Industries together with former SpaceX engineer Will Bruey. Varda works on in-space manufacturing, especially in-space drug manufacturing, and also provides a testbest for hypersonic technology as well as "materials for heat shields, navigation systems and flight computers" for the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2025, they raised $187 million in funding. The founders emphasize that the technologies they use are not new, what is new is the innovative model that combines all elements together.[84][85][86][87] In 2025, the startup carried out a Mach 25 plus mission together with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and NASA's Ames Research Center.[88] The Founders Fund is the incubator of the startup and one of its financial backers.[71][84] In 2025, the Founders Fund invested $43 million in Asparouhov's home country Bulgaria's satellite startup EnduroSat.[89]

Scott Nolan is a partner. In 2025 he co-founded General Matter, a new nuclear fuel startup which he co-founds and which is considered the third part of a trilogy incubated at the Founders Fund (following Palantir and Anduril).[90][91][92] When at SpaceX, Nolan helped to develop the Merlin engine systems and the Dragon capsule.[93] He stays as a partner but will give his full focus on General Matter and the companies he has previously backed.[92]

Brian Singerman is a partner emeritus. He continues as strategic advisor and investor. He is seeking $500 million for a new fund named GPx.[94][95]

Mike Solana is the chief marketing officer. He is the founder of Pirate Wires.[96][97]

Former personnel

Cyan Banister at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco, 2019

Keith Rabois is another PayPal Mafia member. His connection with Thiel began when he served in The Stanford Review's staff under Thiel (When Howery joined Stanford, Thiel and Rabois had graduated). He left Khosla Ventures to join the Founders Fund in 2019. He returned to Khosla in 2024.[61][98][99][100]

Bruce Gibney is also a former Stanford Review editor-in-chief. At Stanford, he was also Howery's roommate. He and his family were early investors in Confinity, which later formed PayPal. He worked for Thiel at Clarium Capital, where he advised Thiel on the $500,000 investment in Facebook. Later, he moved to the Founders Fund and worked as growth partner. He left in November 2012. He also works as a writer and litigator.[101][102][103][104]

Sean Parker worked at the Founders Fund between 2006 and 2014. In 2010, when the Founders Fund invested in Spotify, he became a member of Spotify's board. He is also the founder of the Parker Foundation, an philanthropic organization.[105][106]

In 2016, Bloomberg noted that Founders Fund added roughly one member to their investment team per year. Cyan Banister was the Founders Fund's first female investing partner.[107] In 2019, she helped organize a protest in solidarity with Hong Kong protesters and urged Silicon Valley to sever the ties with China.[108] She married PayPal Mafia member Scott Banister. Now she leads Long Journey Ventures alongside Arielle Zuckerberg, sister of Mark Zuckerberg.[109]

Tristan Abbey worked at Clarium Capital and the Founders Fund. He is currently the 11th administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration. He was an editor at The Stanford Review too.[110][61]

Justin Fishner-Wolfson and S. Alexander Jacobson are former investors at Founders Fund. They are co-founders and partners at 137 Ventures (together with Kathy Chan, formerly at Khosla Ventures), which invests in Palantir, Anduril, SpaceX, Airbnb, Flexport.[111][112]

Investments

Defense, nuclear, space, quantum and dual-use technology (including AI for defense)

The Founders Fund have incubated or co-incubated Palantir Technologies, Anduril Industries, General Matter, Valinor, Varda Space Industries, which are all defense company; only Sol is a non-military company.[113][114]). Other than these companies and SpaceX, the Founders Fund makes investments in other notable companies or projects that have strategical value for defense, security or government affairs, including:

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! Peter Thiel, the firm’s founder, lives in Los Angeles. And Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf told Jessica Lessin on TITV last week that its revenue would double—but it wasn’t yet making money. "Growing a hardware company at the rate we’re growing at turns out to be really expensive," he said. There’s a fascinating business story here about the reinvention of both the tech industry and the national defense complex. But there’s also something broader in the air: realpolitik. Tech is getting built and funded with an eye toward serving national interests and, importantly, getting close to power. Ideals only take you so far.

Cory Weinberg, The Information[45]
  • Impulse Space: After leaving SpaceX, engineer Tom Mueller founded the in-space transport startup following the advice of Peter Thiel.[115] Founders Fund led its $150 million funding round in 2024.[116] The fund also participated in the Series C (June 2025).[117]
  • Planet Labs: a space and analytics startup formerly known as Cosmogia. Founders Fund joined their Series B, C, D.[118][119][120]
  • Senra Systems: startup that makes wireharnesses for "sensors, avionics, communications systems and control surfaces", "aiming to accelerate American manufacturing of drones, rockets and more". The Founders Fund joined its Series A.[121][122]
  • Climate Corp: agrotech company that relies on space-based data. Brian Singerman was on the board.[123][124][125] In 2013, it got acquired by Monsanto.[126]
  • Moon Express: Tokyo-based moon mining startup. The Founders Fund invested in its Series B (2017).[127][128]
  • Planetary Resources (defunct and acquired by Consensys in 2018): space mining startup. Matthew Johnson links the investment to Thiel's Hayekian economic thinking (Thiel was given the Hayek Lifetime Achievement award by the F.A. v Hayek Institut and the Austrian Economics Center in 2015).[129]
  • Northwood Space: startup that emerged from stealth mode in February 2024 and designs "satellite ground systems that receive data from satellites." Founders Fund is an early backer.[130][131]
  • Accion Systems: space populsion startup that develops modular thrusters like the IRVINE01 and IRVINE02 thruster systems.[132][133][134]
  • Hextronics: dual-use drone automation hardware company.[135] The Founders Fund led the seed round in 2024.[136]
  • Nominal: startup that develops "end-to-end data analysis solutions for industrial engineering teams" in manufacturing spacecraft, drones, satellites, and nuclear reactors. Founders Fund is an early backer.[137][138]
  • Niantic, Inc.: augmented reality software company, which has a partnership with BlackSky (Blacksky is a satellite company backed by Mithril Capital.[139][140]).[141] The Founders Fund joined its 2017 Series B and 2019 Series C. Previously, Scott and Cyan Banister had joined its Series A.[142][143][144][145]
  • Neros: military drone startup which is founded by Thiel Fellow Soren Monroe-Anderson. The company's supply chain eliminates Chinese components, resulting in it becoming "one of just two U.S. FPV drone makers approved by the Defense Innovation Unit" and being sanctioned by Beijing.[146][147] It is backed by the Founders Fund and Thiel Capital.[148][149] It allies with the German drone company Quantum-Systems (backed by Thiel through Thiel Capital[150]), which makes the carrier drone Radiant, which can launch Neros's Archer.[151]
  • Hermeus: supersonic airliner startup. In 2019, the Founders Fund joined its $100 million Series B.[152]
  • Akash Systems: startup producing satellite parts like diamond-cooled servers or radios.[153][154][155] Delian Asparouhov invested in the company since his time at Khosla Ventures.[156]
  • EnduroSat: Bulgarian startup that manufactures Gen-3 satellites at scale, which also incorporates Magdrive technology[157] The Founders Fund led a €43 million investment in May 2025.[158][159]
  • Magdrive: UK-based startup focused on spacecraft propulsion. The Founders Fund led the pre-seed round and participated in the 2025 seed round.[160][161][162]
  • Ayar Labs: optical I/O data company that produces chiplets for the DoD.[163][164] The Founders Fund (FF Science) led the seed round and participated in Series A, Series B, Series C.[165][166][167][168][169][170]
  • PsiQuantum: Photonic quantum startup that works with Australian and U.S. defense agencies.[171][172] The Founders Fund led the Series B (2017) and participated in 2019 and 2020 funding rounds.[173][174][175]
  • Rigetti Computing: superconducting quantum startup that works with Air Force Research Laboratory.[176] The Founders Fund led the 2020 funding round.[177]
  • Zapata AI: early quantum AI specialist (now ceased operation[178]), veteran-owned "Non-Traditional Defense Contractor" (NTDS).[179] The Founders Fund (FF Science) participated in its seed round in 2018.[180][181]
  • Valthos: biodefense company that emerged from stealth in October 2025, with backing from Lux Capital, OpenAi and the Founders Fund. Co-founders are Kathleen McMahon (CEO), who served a long time as leader of Palantir's life sciences division, and Lux Capital partner Tess van Stekelenburg. Delian Asparouhov notes that before 2025, creating biotech-based weapons was "only murmurs", but now technological advances have made it a real possibility.[182] The team comes from Palantir, DeepMind, the Broad Institute and the Arc Institute.[183] Vox sees the startup and its alliance with OpenAI as the beginning of AI-bio defense capabilities.[184]
  • Biosphere: a clean energy startup that develops UV-sterilized bioreactors and is working with the U.S. Department of Defense in benchtop production. The Founders Fund participated in the seed round.[185][186][187]
  • Bolt Threads: startup that makes dual-use synthetic spider silk. The Founders Fund joined Series B, C, D.[188][189][190][191] It went public through merging with a SPAC in 2024.[192]
  • Sana Health: startup that develops a device to treat PTSD, adjustment disorder or pain and sleep problems. It is supported by the DoD.[193][194] The Founders Fund participated in the seed round and led another funding round in 2020.[195][196][197]
  • Earable: Vietnamese-American sleeptech company, that won the 2023 CES Innovation Award[198] and targets the defense sector.[199] The Founders Fund led the seed round.[200][201][202]
  • Solugen: chemical startup "developing modular, scalable infrastructure to produce dual-use precursors for next-generation energetic materials."[203][204] The Founders Fund led its Series A, Series B.[205][206][207][208] Founders Fund partner Sean Liu was its CFO (before joining the Founders Fund), now remains strategic advisor.[209][210]
  • Transatomic Power: a startup that developed a molten salt reactor, before closing down in 2018.[211]
  • Radiant Industries: startup that made nuclear microreactors. Founders Fund joined its Series B, C.[212][213]
  • Avalanche Energy: fusion company that builds mini reactors, which have application in defense.[214] The Founders Fund co-led its Series A in 2023.[215][216][217][218]
  • Voya: dual-use climatetech company,[219] that develops a method to turn metal into energy. The Founders Fund participated in its 2025 seed round. The IQT (formerly In-Q-Tel) also invested.[220][221]
  • Crusoe (Crusoe Energy Systems): startup that builds computing and AI infrastructure (like modular datacenters) utilizing clean (mainly renewable) energy. The company is a close partner of OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank, as a member of the Stargate project.[222] Founders Fund led its $600 million Series D in December 2024.[223]
  • Modumetal: dual-use[224] startup that "grows" high performance metal in an energy-efficient and cheap way. The Founders Fund led the $33.5 million round in 2015.[225][226][227]
  • Biofire: startup that develops a smart gun, using biometric data to prevent children from using guns. The Founders Fund led the Series A, but few investors participated, so the Series A was extended in 2024, again with participation from the Founders Fund.[228][229][230]
  • Gecko Robotics: a startup "which uses robots and AI to help organizations including the U.S. military inspect and monitor critical infrastructure". It became an unicorn in June 2025. The Founders Fund supported it since its Series A, joined its Series B, C, D.[231][232][233][234] Trae Stephens joined the board after Series C.[235]
  • Cobalt Robotics (later Cobalt AI): company that produces indoor security robots which serves the defense, manufacturing and finance sectors.[236] The robots were deployed by the Australian government during the Covid pandemic.[237] The Founders Fund joined the Series A,[238] Later the company got acquired by Dean Drako.[239]
  • goTenna: startup that works on dual use technology like mesh networking over radio frequencies, that can be used for the military or rescue. The Founders Fund led its series C in 2019.[240]
  • Advanced Manufacturing Company of America (Amca): aerospace and defense company, that acts as a layer between startups and legacy players. It acquires old defense companies that make power units, sensors and flight-control computers to rebuild the supply chain for companies like Boeing and Airbus. The company launched in April 2025 with $76.5 million in initial funding. Backers include Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, Lux Capital, Andreessen Horowitz.[241][242]
  • Hadrian Automation: defense manufacturing company, which has a close connection with Anduril.[243] The Founders Fund has invested in the company since its seed round.[244][245] In July 2025, the Founders Fund co-led the $260 million Series C with Lux Capital.[246]
  • Plethora: CNC manufacturing startup that turns 3D designs into custom parts (providing both software and hardware), serving customers in aerospace and defense.[247][248][249] The Founders Fund has supported the company since the seed round (2013).[250] Scott Nolan led the investment and is on the board.[251][252][253]
  • Armada AI: startup that makes moveable AI datacenters for manufacturing and defense. The Founders Fund has been backing the company since the beginning, In December 2023 when the startup emerged from stealth mode, the Founders Fund led its $55 million funding round. The fund backed it again in its $40 million fundraising round in 2024 and its $131 million round in 2025.[254][255][256] Dan Wright, the CEO, said that, "The company itself came out of a number of discussions between myself, my co-founder Jon Runyan, and many of our investors and partners, like Founders Fund and 137 Ventures, as we looked for a company to build that would have a material, positive impact on the world."[257]
  • Dirac: defense manufacturing AI startup that helps to build jet engines and submarines. The seed round led by the Founders Fund and Coatue was announced together with a partnership with Siemens.[258][259][260] It also has a partnership with Hadrian.[261]
  • Scale AI: data annotation startup, which allies closely with Palantir and Anduril as a new industrial player in the defense sector.[262][263][264] Co-founder Lucy Guo is a Thiel Fellow. The startup became an unicorn after Founders Fund led the series C in 2019.[265]
  • OpenAI: Thiel was one of the first donors to the then non-profit OpenAI.[266] The Founders Fund is a longtime backer. Recently, the Founders Fund joined the $8.3 billion funding round in August 2025.[267][268] OpenAI is also a close ally of Palantir, Anduril and Valinor, which are challenging the traditional military incumbents.[262][263]
  • Databricks: In December 2024, the Founders Fund participated in its $10 billion funding round, investing "low hundreds of millions of dollars".[269] Palantir and Databricks has a partnership, that merges Palantir's Ontology System with Databricks' data processing capabilities, serving entities such as the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and energy firm bp.[270]
  • Rescale: HPC cloud computing startup that works with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).[271] It is known that Thiel is an early investor, who also invested in its Series D.[272][273] Some sources report that the Founders Fund invested in the 2015 round.[274][275]
  • Lagrange Labs: blockchain cryptography startup (that has a partnership with Anduril[276]). The Founders Fund led its seed funding round.[277][278][279]
  • Qadium (later renamed Expanse): cybersecurity that worked with the Department of Defense;[280] co-founded by Shaun Maguire (Sequoia), Tim Junio (who previously served at the CIA and under the secretary of defense) and Matt Kraning (former DARPA employee). The Founders Fund and Peter Thiel personally led the $6 million seed round in 2015, then the Founders Fund joined Series A, B, C.[281][282][283][284]
  • CapLinked: project management software company founded by former PayPal's vice president Eric Jackson, which also works in cybersecurity with Google and other defense and government contractors.[285] The Founders Fund (FF Angel) joined Series A,[286]
  • Galvanick: cybersecurity company that works with the government in defense sector. The company has defense-focused partnerships with Oracle.[287][288] The Founders Fund participated in the seed round.[289][290][291]

Robotics and civilian drones

Robotics is natural dual-use technology,[292] [293][294] but companies listed here have focused on civilian applications.

  • Built Robotics: autonomous construction vehicle startup. The Founders Fund participated in its Series A, B, C.[295]
  • Manna Drone: Irish delivery drone startup, founded in 2019, considered one of the most successful and largest drone delivery companies in the world.[296] The Founders Fund is an early backer.[297][298]
  • Shinkei Systems: robotics startup that develops its technology based on the Japanese ike-jime method to harvest fish more efficiently and humanely. The Founders Fund led its Series A.[299][300][301]
  • Coco: last mile delivery robotics company, which is considered one of the leading startups in urban robotic delivery and has a partnership with OpenAI.[302] The Series A was co-led by the Founders Fund, Sam Altman and Silicon Valley Bank. [303][304]

Semiconductor

  • Nanotronics Imaging: startup that builds builds modular semiconductor factories called "Cubefabs". The Founders Fund was the sole backer in its Series B (2013) and participated in Series D (2017). Thiel joined the board after Series B.[305][306][307]
  • Rex Computing: startup that worked on a new chip architecture and memory system. It was founded by Thomas Sohmers, a Thiel Fellow. The Founders Fund backed its seed round. The startup later became inactive. The founder has co-founded and is working as the CTO for the semiconductor startup Positron AI.[308][309][310][311]
  • Substrate: founded by James Proud , the startup develops X-ray lithography (instead of the EUV method) for chip production. In October 2025, Substrate received $100 million in funding from the Founders Fund, General Catalyst and others, which valued the firm at $1 billion. According to 2024 reports, the facility it intended to build in Texas would ultimately cost $10 billion.[312][313][314][315]

Biotech and healthcare (including brain-computer interface)

  • Ultima Genomics: gene-sequencing startup that came out of stealth mode in 2022 after raising $600 million from the Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures and others.[316]
  • Nucleus Genomics: controversial startup that uses DNA found in saliva to a database linking health problems to genes and provide data for embryo selection, founded by Thiel Fellow Kian Sandeghi. Asparouhov led the Series A for Founders Fund.[317][318][319]
  • Stemcentrx (Cancer therapies startup): Founders Fund led the company’s Series B round, which "reportedly returned $1.4 billion off a $300 million investment".[320][321]
  • Datavant and Roivant Sciences: Roivant is a drug development company founded by Vivek Ramaswamy. Datavant is a healthcare data startup spun out from Roivant, with early backing from the Founders Fund. The Founders Fund also backs Roivant.[322][323]
  • Practice Fusion: startup that develops digitalized healthcare service. It has acquired Ringadoc which was backed by the Founders Fund too.[324][325]
  • Neuralink: Information about the startup's early funding is scarce (possibly Musk's own money).[326] Founders Fund led a $280 million funding round (Series D) in 2023.[327] It later participated in the $650M Series E (June 2025).[328] Thiel also backs Neuralink's rival Blackrock Neurotech.[329]
  • CTRL-labs: a company that developed a wrist-worn, non-invasive brain–machine interface reads neural signals from the arm and hand to interpret a user’s intended movements. By detecting intention rather than requiring actual motion, it enables people to control computers and other devices without physical action. It was acquired by Facebook in 2019.[330][331]
  • Halcyon Molecular: DNA sequencing startup co-founded by Nosek.[332][333]
Luke Nosek, co-founder, 2007.
  • GoodRx: startup that does price comparison for prescription drugs. Founders Fund joined the seed round in 2011.[334][335]
  • Rational Vaccines: herpes vaccine company that carried out secret trials in Saint Kitts. Thiel Capital and the Founders Fund backed the company. The company was co-led by filmmaker Agustín Fernández and Bill Halford, professor at Southern Illinois University, who at the time had a fatal illness and felt that he could not wait for the government's approval. The company was criticized for violating ethical norms and FDA's rules, such as using a live virus (weakened). Supporters said that the 17 people injected with the vaccine already had herpes so risks were minimal; the current rules and processes were too burdensome so companies had to search for ways to speed up the development of drugs. The State Journal Register said that the affair led to development of proposals that could change the current drug-development system drastically including making new treatments accessible as much as seven years earlier.[336][337] Jim O'Neill, who worked for Clarium and Mithril Capital before becoming the 25th United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, was an advisor for the company.[338]
  • NewLimit: epigenetic reprogramming startup. The Founders Fund co-led Series A with Dimension and Kleiner Perkins.[339][340][341]
  • HistoSonics: The Founders Fund and Thiel Bio invested and joined its ownership group (including K5 Global, Bezos Expeditions, and Wellington Management) in October 2025. The startup develops "a noninvasive therapy that uses histotripsy — therapeutic focused ultrasound energy — to liquefy and destroy tumors and tissue under real-time image guidance".[342]
  • Peptilogics: startup that develops the drug "zaloganan", which targets prosthetic joint infections (PJI). The Founders Fund led the October 2025 funding round alongside Thiel's new biotech fund Thiel Bio and Presight Capital.[343][344][345] The press release said that Thiel had personally invested in the firm.[346] previously.
  • Hims & Hers Health: direct-to-consumer healthcare startup, that initially focused on men's health but now also has a female brand. The Founders Fund joined the $100 million round in 2019, which made it an unicorn.[347][348]
  • Zocdoc: telemedicine startup. The Founders Fund led Series B (2010), participated in Series D (2015).[349][350]
  • Contraline: startup that develops a non-surgical, reversible contraceptive for men, called ADAM. The Founders Fund led the second seed round (2017) and participated in Series A (2021).[351][352][353][354]

Other hardware

  • Freeform: metal 3d printing startup. The Founders Fund backed it in 2023.[355][356][357]
  • Zinier: field service automation platform startup. Founders Fund invested in the company in 2019 and 2020.[358][359][360]
  • The Boring Company: The Founders Fund joined its $675 million Series C in 2022.[361][362]
  • Layup Parts: composites manufacturing company, built by three The Boring Company alumni. The Founders Fund led a funding round for it in May 2024.[363]
  • Tibber (de): Norwegian digital clean energy startup that is also active in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The Founders Fund led its Series A, co-led its Series B with Accel and participated in Series C.[364][365][366][367]
  • Stenon: Potsdam-based portable soil sensing agrotechnology startup. The Founders Fund funded its Series A.[368][369][370]
  • Oculus: augmented reality hardware and software startup founded by Palmer Luckey, later acquired by Meta].[371]
  • Zellerfeld: Hamburg- and New York-based startup that produces 3d-printed shoes. The Founders Fund led its seed round (2023).[372][373][374][375]

Fintech, insurance, trade, marketing, consumer tech and cryptocurrency

  • Affirm: founded by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin: Founders Fund did not invest until 2016,[376] but led its $US100 million Series D and participated in the $500 million Series G and the $200 million Series E.[377][378][379]
  • Nubank: Brazilian banking startup. The Founders Fund led the Series C (this was also its first foray into Brazilian investment scene, even though Thiel's other funds had made investments in Brazil before) and participated in Series D.[380][381]
  • Polymarket: cryptocurrency-based prediction market startup. The startup became an unicorn in June 2025 after Founders Fund led a $200 million funding round.[382]
  • Ramp: a fintech company founded in 2019. The Founders Fund has led five rounds of investment, which helps the company to reach a value of $16 billion.[383] The company attracted controversies in 2025 due to its political connections, when the General Services Administration considered it for the government’s SmartPay program.[384]
  • Long-Term Stock Exchange: The Founders Fund led its Series B.[385]
  • Zenreach (formerly Adentro): The Founders Fund led its Series B and participated in Series C. Peter Thiel joined its board after Series B.[386][387][388]
  • Oscar Health: health insurance company founded by Joshua Kushner, Mario Schlosser and Kevin Nazemi. The Founders Fund participated in its Series A. In 2015, when it attracted $145 million, the Wall Street Journal reported that, "Return investors Peter Thiel and Brian Singerman of Founders Fund led the round."[389][390]
  • Airbnb: hospitality startup, in which the Founders Fund first invested in 2013 (Series C). Mithril Capital locked the deal down first, but they boasted about the deal early with investors. Rumours reached the Founders Fund, which already disliked Mithril for being too close to their Presidio campus. The Founders Fund claimed that because Thiel was already a backer, it would be more natural for the Founders Fund to get the deal. The Founders Fund ultimately prevailed, while Thiel arranged for Mithril to invest in Palantir as compensation.[391][392]
  • Spotify: The Founders Fund first invested in the startup in 2010 (as a lead investor; Series C). Sean Parker joined its board in that year and has remained a board member until this day. The Founders Fund continued to invested in 2015.[393][394]
  • Credit Karma: multinational personal finance company. The Founders Fund invested in its Series A in 2009,[395][396]
  • Trade Republic: Berlin-based fintech and banking startup. The Founders Fund co-led Series B with Accel, participated in Series B extension and Series C.[397][398][399] In 2021, the Handelsblatt notes that while Thiel invested extensively in German fintech startups (at this time his German investments consisted mostly of fintech and software) through different funds (but mostly Thiel Capital and Valar), he did not advise them equally. While the Berlin-based banking startup Moss's founders only saw from Valar Ventures's James Fitzgerald, Thiel paid special attention to Trade Republic.[400]

Database and social networking

  • ResearchGate: The Founders Fund is an early investor in the Berlin-based science database and networking site. Virologist Ijad Madisch, the founder, recounts that, in 2012, Thiel arrived late, asked three questions, and then stood up, saying: "I want to invest in this guy no matter what the cost."[401]
  • The Org: Database startup that builds organizational charts. The Founders Fund participated Series A (2000; as lead according to TechCrunch and tech.eu, as non-lead investor according to Business Insider), Series B (2021).[402][403][404][405]
Brian Singerman, 2013

Cloud computing

  • Domo, Inc.: AI, business intelligence company.[406][407]
  • Hydra Host: company that provides bare metal GPU cloud services. The Founders Fund's Trae Stephens led the $8 million seed round. Joe Lonsdale also participated.[408]
  • BuildOps: startup that develops an all-in-one cloud platform for companies in contractors in plumbing, HVAC, and electrical trades. Founders Fund joined Series A.[409][410]

Digitalization, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity

  • DeepMind: The Founders Fund was an early backer of the AI company, which later got acquired by Google.[411]
  • Arceo.ai (or Arceo Labs, later renamed as Resilience Cyber Insurance Solutions or Resilience): enterprise cybersecurity risk-analytics startup, which develops methods to prevent theft of usernames and passwords through multifactor authentication for private businesses. The startup is founded by Defense Innovation Unit's former leaders Raj Shah and Vishaal Hariprasad. Its $37 million funding round in 2019 was led by Founders Fund and Lightspeed Venture Partners. This was the Founders Fund's first investment in cybersecurity.[412] In 2023, the Founders Fund participated in its $100 million Series D.[413]
  • Figma: Founders Fund participated in its Series D. Figma's Dylan Field is a Thiel Fellow.[414][415][416]
  • Vicarious Systems: startup that worked on general intelligence for robots, now has been acquired by Alphabet. The Founders Fund was one of its earliest backers.[417][418]
  • Cognition AI: AI lab startup, that creates Devin AI. The Founders Fund led its $21 million Series A round in March 2024 and one month later, led a $175 million funding round.[419] Thiel Fellow Walden Yan is a co-founder.[420]
  • Netic: automation platform startup that serves emergency service, home services, automotive and healthcare.[421][422] In November 2025, when the Founders Fund led its $23 million Series B, Bloomberg commented that this was a rare case in which the Founders Fund provided early capital for a startup for the third time in a row (Founders Fubnd also led Netic's Series A). Previously this only happened to Anduril and Cognition.[423][424]
  • Enter: Brazilian legal AI startup. By September 2025, the Wall Street Journal notes that this is Founders Fund's only bet on a legal AI company to date. It co-led the Series A with Sequoia.[425][426]
  • DoNotPay: startup that produces "world’s first robot lawyer", founded by Thiel Fellow Joshua Browder. The Founders Fund participated in its 2019 seed round and the 2020 Series A.[427][428]
  • Asana, Inc.: work management platform. The Founders Fund has backed the company since 2012.[429][430][431]
  • Persona: identity verification service company. The fund led a $150 million funding round for the company in 2021.[432]
  • BillGuard: cybersecurity service company, that Khosla Ventures and Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors, Joe Lonsdale and others also invest in.[433][434]
  • Circles.Life: Singapore-based mobile network operator. The Founders Fund backed it with an undisclosed sum in 2019.[435][436]
  • Prime Intellect: startup that builds a decentralized platform for AI development that lets users pool global computing resources to collaboratively train and collectively own AI models. Founders Fund led the $15m Series A in 2025.[437][438][439]
  • Moat: ad-tech company, that later became part of Oracle Advertising. The Founders Fund participated in the seed round and Series B.[440][441]

Games and graphics

In 2019, Cyan Banister commented on the reason she and the Founders Fund continued to invest in game companies: "In 2018 I was obsessed with the idea of how you can bring AI and entertainment together [...] I also became obsessed with live and interactive mobile-first entertainment, making investments in HQ Trivia, Drivetime, Bunch and Glamcam. When anyone says that consumer is over, I disagree. I believe we are on the cusp of a paradigm shift of how consumers behave and it's the beginning of new social fabric and design that pushes devices in ways never before thought imaginable."[442]

Edtech

Food and beverage

  • Bev: women-centric beverage supplier that produced canned wine. It was founded by Alix Peabody and was later acquired by Gallo.[464] The Founders Fund seeded the company in 2019.[465]
  • Eat Just: "irst government-approved vendor of lab-grown chicken", that produces egg replacement products and lab-grown meat. The Founders Fund seeded the company together with Khosla.[466][467]
  • Eating with the chefs: Berlin-based delivery service that provides ingredients to prepare at home. This is one of Thiel's early non-fintech investments in Germany (seed round, 2015).[468][469] The founder is Clemens Riedl, former CEO of StudiVZ (Berlin-based social networking platform for student, backed by Thiel). StudiVZ was acquired by Holtzbrinck, which also seeded Eating with the chefs together with the Founders Fund.[468][400]
  • Wild Earth: vegan high-protein pet food startup. Thiel Capital invests alongside the Founders Fund.[470][471]

Incubators, accelarators and funds

Secret investments

  • Boldend: San Diego-based cyberwarfare company, which competed with the Israeli NSO group's Pegasus for contracts with U.S.military and intelligence agencies. The startup reportedly received secret funding from the Founders Fund. The information was revealed when the slides Boldend sent to its partner Raytheon were obtained by The New York Times, in which Boldend claimed that its tools could hack Meta-owned WhatsApp and the Founders Fund was a major backer of the company. In 2022, Forbes was able to confirm with two different sources that $10 million was injected by the Founders Fund in the early days of the startup. This investment caused debates, especially because Thiel sat on Meta's board.[477][478][479][480] The New York Times noted that another investment of Thiel (and the Founders Fund) that clashed with his seat at Meta's board, was Clearview AI, which collected billions of photos from Facebook, Instagram, and other social platforms in violation of their terms of service. Meta declined to comment on these investments.[481]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Gabriele, Mario. "Founders Fund: The Kingdom". www.generalist.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
  2. ↑ https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/11/peter-thiels-founders-fund-closes-4point6-billion-growth-fund.html [bare URL]
  3. ↑ Loizos, Connie (March 5, 2022). "A look inside Founders Fund, as it closes on $5 billion across two new funds". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on March 29, 2025. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Thiel's Founders Fund sells remaining Facebook shares". Reuters. August 27, 2019. Archived from the original on August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  5. ↑ Ha, Anthony (August 6, 2008). "Private rocket company SpaceX gets $20M from The Founders Fund". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on February 24, 2025. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  6. ↑ Griffith, Erin (July 6, 2020). "Palantir Technologies Files to Go Public". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on March 27, 2025. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ Brehse, Tami; Kirschner, Kylie; Yip, Jaures; Jackson, Sarah (December 7, 2024). "The PayPal Mafia includes tech titans like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Reid Hoffman. Here's where its members are now". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 14, 2025. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Portfolio". Founders Fund. Archived from the original on March 30, 2025. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ https://www.generalist.com/p/founders-fund-1 [bare URL]
  10. 1 2 3 Primack, Dan (February 19, 2020). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund isn't really Peter Thiel's Founders Fund". Axios. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  11. ↑ Hu, Krystal; Tong, Anna; Cai, Kenrick. "Founders Fund in talks to back defense firm Anduril at $28 billion valuation, sources say". Reuters. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  12. ↑ Hornstein, Julia (September 15, 2025). "I dove deep into the SportsCenter of Silicon Valley". Business Insider.
  13. ↑ MacColl, Margaux (December 3, 2024). "Brian Singerman to take a step back from Founders Fund". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Roof, Katie (March 3, 2022). "Founders Fund Raises $5 Billion for Early- to Late-Stage Deals". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on March 28, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  15. ↑ Marinova, Polina (June 7, 2018). "Kevin Hartz Is Stepping Down as Partner at Founders Fund". Fortune. ISSN 2169-155X. OCLC 38999231. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  16. ↑ Primack, Dan (March 6, 2014). "Sean Parker formally leaves Founders Fund". Fortune. ISSN 2169-155X. OCLC 38999231. Archived from the original on January 25, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  17. ↑ Constine, Josh (December 11, 2012). "Founders Fund Partner Bruce Gibney Has Left The Firm". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  18. ↑ Birkwood, Susannah (October 31, 2012). "Profile: Founders Fund's Bruce Gibney". Asian Venture Capital Journal. Archived from the original on November 7, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  19. 1 2 Guynn, Jessica (December 13, 2006). "The Founders Fund emerges as venture capital 2.0 / How entrepreneurs get money, and time, for startups is changing". SFGate. Archived from the original on January 14, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2007.
  20. ↑ Guynn, Jessica (December 18, 2007). "Facebook backer now a rival to venture capitalists". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 2165-1736. OCLC 3638237. Archived from the original on February 5, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2007.
  21. ↑ Hoge, Patrick (July 19, 2010). "Founders Fund raises $250M vehicle". San Francisco Business Times. American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  22. ↑ Rusli, Evelyn M. (December 1, 2011). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund Raises $625 Million". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on December 18, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  23. ↑ Tsotsis, Alexia (December 15, 2011). "Want A Piece Of Founders Fund's Latest $625M Fund? Start By Trying To Change The World". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  24. ↑ Novet, Jordan (March 5, 2014). "Founders Fund raises a big $1B fund to plunk into startups". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  25. ↑ Martin, Scott (March 25, 2016). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund Bags $1.3 Billion". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. ISSN 1042-9840. OCLC 781541372. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Founders Fund stocks up with $3B across two funds". PitchBook. February 20, 2020. Archived from the original on March 29, 2025. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  27. ↑ Primack, Dan; Kokalitcheva, Kia (March 3, 2023). "Scoop: Founders Fund slashes size of its flagship VC fund".
  28. ↑ "Founders Fund". Angels Partners. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  29. ↑ Prabhu, Abhinaya (April 16, 2025). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund reloaded: $4.6B to fuel the next wave of tech titans — TFN". Tech Funding News. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  30. 1 2 Bort, Julie (April 15, 2025). "Founders Fund's new $4.6B fund indicates an era of big VC spending". TechCrunch.
  31. ↑ Levy, Ari (April 11, 2025). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund closes $4.6 billion growth fund". CNBC.
  32. ↑ "Life After Facebook". Forbes. January 26, 2011.
  33. ↑ O'Dea, Meghan. "German Historical Institute Washington Bulletin, Supplement Bd. 12 (2016)" (PDF). Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  34. ↑ Guynn, Jessica (December 13, 2006). "The Founders Fund emerges as venture capital 2.0 / How entrepreneurs get money, and time, for startups is changing". Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  35. ↑ Rusli, Evelyn M. (May 19, 2011). "Contrarian Investor Shuns Hot Idea for Bigger Picture". DealBook.
  36. ↑ Landed, We (January 1, 2017). "What happened to the future?". Founders Fund. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  37. ↑ Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel (July 30, 2011). "Facebook Investor Wants Flying Cars, Not 140 Characters". Business Insider.
  38. ↑ McCullagh, Declan (August 23, 2011). "Peter Thiel thinks tech innovation has 'stalled'". CNET.
  39. ↑ Schwarz, Elke (January 16, 2025). "The Silicon Valley venture capitalists who want to 'move fast and break things' in the defence industry". The Conversation.
  40. ↑ Rueegg (graphics), Philipp Wolf (text), Jasmine (May 23, 2025). "Profits and power drive tech figures' defense ambitions". Neue Zürcher Zeitung.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  41. ↑ Brenes, Michael; Hartung, William D. (June 3, 2024). "Private Finance and the Quest to Remake Modern Warfare". Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
  42. ↑ Mead, Camden (April 12, 2024). "Venture Capital's Return to Aerospace and Defense". 47G. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  43. ↑ Copeland, Rob; Roof, Kathie (October 21, 2019). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund Builds New War Chest in Strategy Shift". Archived from the original on December 31, 2019.
  44. ↑ Levy, Ari (April 11, 2025). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund closes $4.6 billion growth fund". CNBC.
  45. 1 2 Weinberg, Cory (October 7, 2025). "Why I'm Covering Defense Tech; Founders Fund's Concentrated Bets". The Information. Archived from the original on October 9, 2025.
  46. ↑ Primack, Dan (February 19, 2020). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund isn't really Peter Thiel's Founders Fund". Axios.
  47. ↑ Shieber, Jonathan (February 19, 2020). "Founders Fund confirms $3 billion in new capital across two funds". TechCrunch.
  48. ↑ Chafkin, Max (September 23, 2021). "Why Peter Thiel is such a charismatic influencer". Australian Financial Review.
  49. ↑ Taplin, Jonathan (April 18, 2017). Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy. Little, Brown. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-316-27574-3.
  50. ↑ Ratnesar, Romesh (February 3, 2011). "Peter Thiel: 21st Century Free Radical". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024.
  51. ↑ Chafkin, Max (September 21, 2021). The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and the Rise of the Silicon Valley Oligarchs. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-9848-7854-0.
  52. ↑ Turi, Abeba N. (January 1, 2023). Financial Technologies and DeFi: A Revisit to the Digital Finance Revolution. Springer Nature. p. 12. ISBN 978-3-031-17998-3.
  53. 1 2 Gabriele, Mario. "No Rivals: The Prophet (Part I)". www.generalist.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  54. ↑ Russell, Melia (March 6, 2020). "Meet the 37-year old ex-banker who rose to become the operations boss at Founders Fund after meeting Peter Thiel at a cocktail party". Business Insider.
  55. ↑ Schwarz, Elke (January 30, 2025). "Conjuring the End: Techno-eschatology and the Power of Prophecy". Opinio Juris. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  56. ↑ Petriano, Mike (February 28, 2024). "Hereticon 2: The Apocalypse Ball". Founders Fund. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  57. ↑ Chapman, Lizette (November 8, 2019). "What Happened at Mithril When Peter Thiel Wasn't Around". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2025.
  58. ↑ Shen, Lucinda (February 8, 2021). "Founders Fund signs up for a Miami office". Fortune. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021.
  59. ↑ "Ken Howery". World Economic Forum. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  60. ↑ "PN54-3 - Nomination of Kenneth Howery for Department of State, 119th Congress (2025-2026)". www.congress.gov. October 10, 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  61. 1 2 3 Granato, Andrew (November 27, 2017). "How Peter Thiel and the Stanford Review Built a Silicon Valley Empire". Stanford Politics. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  62. 1 2 Alamalhodaei, Aria; Bort, Julie (January 1, 2025). "Internal SpaceX documents show the sweet stock deals offered to investors like a16z, Gigafund". TechCrunch.
  63. ↑ Mallaby, Sebastian (January 25, 2022). The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Art of Disruption. Penguin Books Limited. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-241-35653-1.
  64. ↑ Chafkin, Max (September 21, 2021). The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and the Rise of the Silicon Valley Oligarchs. Penguin. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-9848-7854-0.
  65. ↑ Cucci, Dorothy. "Peter Thiel thinks Elon Musk is a 'fraud,' and 6 other unexpected details about the billionaires' love-hate relationship". Business Insider. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024.
  66. ↑ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. April 12, 2025.
  67. ↑ Levy, Ari (April 11, 2025). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund closes $4.6 billion growth fund". CNBC.
  68. ↑ Russell, Melia (March 6, 2020). "Meet the 37-year old ex-banker who rose to become the operations boss at Founders Fund after meeting Peter Thiel at a cocktail party". Business Insider.
  69. ↑ Loizos, Connie (March 2, 2024). "VC Trae Stephens says he has a bunker (and much more) in talk about Founders Fund and Anduril". TechCrunch.
  70. ↑ Liszewski, Andrew (June 12, 2023). "You Can Finally Pre-Order These E-Reader Goggles for $350 That Use Imagination to Create Virtual Worlds". Gizmodo.
  71. 1 2 Shieber, Jonathan (December 9, 2020). "Space manufacturing startup Varda, incubated at Founders Fund, emerges with $9 million in funding". TechCrunch.
  72. ↑ Demarest, Colin (October 15, 2025). "Exclusive: Valinor wants to build defense-tech "picks and shovels"". Axios.
  73. ↑ Bush, Julie. "Today, we are thrilled to introduce Valinor to the world! Valinor is a first-of-its-kind company providing a go-to-market engine for the world's best technologists building products for government… | Julie Bush | 113 comments". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  74. ↑ "Seeding the Future with Valinor". www.generalcatalyst.com.
  75. ↑ Media, Resilience. "In conversation with General Catalyst". www.resiliencemedia.co.
  76. ↑ "New monopoly? Inside VC tech's overthrow of the primes | Responsible Statecraft". responsiblestatecraft.org. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  77. ↑ "Current Members". Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC). Archived from the original on August 5, 2025. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  78. ↑ "Flexport Raises $65 Million in Venture Capital to Expand Operations - TT". Transport Topics. September 29, 2016.
  79. ↑ Bogoslaw, David (September 2, 2025). "How VCs are fueling innovation in defense tech". Venture Capital Journal.
  80. ↑ Bort, Julie (June 5, 2025). "Anduril raises $2.5B at $30.5B valuation led by Founders Fund". TechCrunch.
  81. ↑ Dickey, Megan Rose (June 28, 2016). "Flexport CEO expresses some remorse in taking cash from Peter Thiel". TechCrunch.
  82. ↑ Chapman, Lizette (July 10, 2023). "Flexport's Ryan Petersen Joins Thiel-Backed Founders Fund as Partner". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023.
  83. ↑ "Delian Asparouhov". Founders Fund. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  84. 1 2 Zaveri, Paayal (July 10, 2025). "Varda Raises $187 Million to Manufacture Drugs in Space". Archived from the original on July 10, 2025.
  85. ↑ Alamalhodaei, Aria (July 10, 2025). "With Varda Space, leading Silicon Valley players make big bet on making drugs in space". TechCrunch.
  86. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (July 29, 2021). "Space start-up Varda, founded by SpaceX and Founders Fund veterans, aims to build factories in orbit". CNBC.
  87. ↑ Vavova, Mirela (September 22, 2023). "The "extra-terrestrial" entrepreneur Delian Asparouhov: From small Bulgaria to the boundless Space". Еconomic.bg.
  88. ↑ Erwin, Sandra (March 21, 2023). "U.S. Air Force to test hardware at hypersonic speeds on Varda's space capsules". SpaceNews.
  89. ↑ Atanasova, Teodora (May 27, 2025). "Bulgarian EnduroSat Raises €43M Led by Founders Fund to Scale Next-Gen Modular Satellites". TheRecursive.com.
  90. ↑ "General Matter plans US nuclear fuel revival". NEI Magazine. December 9, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  91. ↑ "Peter Thiel doubles down on patriotism in the Trump era". The Economist. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  92. 1 2 "Peter Thiel joins board of enriched uranium startup General Matter". Bloomberg. April 14, 2025. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  93. ↑ "Chair & Board Leadership". Jackson Hole Technology Partnership 501c3. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  94. ↑ Temkin, Marina (July 14, 2025). "Brian Singerman is raising over $500M for a new fund with a twist on the VC model". TechCrunch.
  95. ↑ Levy, Ari (December 3, 2024). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund loses one of first partners to emeritus role". CNBC.
  96. ↑ "Michael Solana". Founders Fund. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  97. ↑ Hornstein, Julia (September 15, 2025). "I dove deep into the SportsCenter of Silicon Valley". Business Insider.
  98. ↑ "The Stanford Review" (PDF). The Stanford Review. Vol. III, no. 2. December 1988. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 20, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  99. ↑ "Keith Rabois". Forbes. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  100. ↑ Loizos, Connie (January 10, 2024). "Why Keith Rabois just left Founders Fund for Khosla Ventures". TechCrunch.
  101. ↑ Constine, Josh (December 12, 2012). "Founders Fund Partner Bruce Gibney Has Left The Firm". TechCrunch.
  102. ↑ Little, Ben; Winch, Alison (June 23, 2021). The New Patriarchs of Digital Capitalism: Celebrity Tech Founders and Networks of Power. Routledge. p. 2035. ISBN 978-1-000-39763-5.
  103. ↑ Cutler, Kim-Mai (August 20, 2012). "Founders Fund Launches A More Transparent Term Sheet". TechCrunch.
  104. ↑ Rubin, Courtney (December 7, 2011). "How to Get Money from Founders FundPartner Bruce Gibney talks about what's hot, Facebook, and why Monday morning meetings aren't necessary".
  105. ↑ "Sean Parker Biography, Napster, Facebook, & Facts Britannica Money". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  106. ↑ "Bruce Gibney Biography Booking Info for Speaking Engagements". www.allamericanspeakers.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  107. ↑ Chapman, Lizette (March 29, 2016). "Founders Fund Adds Banister as First Female Investing Partner". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2022.
  108. ↑ Hernbroth, Megan (November 2, 2019). "A Silicon Valley VC is handing out 'Free Hong Kong' shirts at Golden State Warriors games and calling out other tech leaders for taking Chinese money while staying silent". Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020.
  109. ↑ Chapman, Lizette (March 19, 2025). "Cyan Banister, Arielle Zuckerberg Firm Raises $181.8 Million to Back 'Magical Weirdos'". Archived from the original on April 23, 2025.
  110. ↑ "U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis". www.eia.gov. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  111. ↑ Hornstein, Julia (September 27, 2025). "'Can we find the next 40 Facebooks?': Behind the ambitious plans of 137 Ventures". Business Insider.
  112. ↑ Clark, Kate (March 12, 2019). "137 Ventures raises $210M to give liquidity to startup employees". TechCrunch.
  113. ↑ Levy, Steven (September 25, 2024). "Trae Stephens Has Built AI Weapons and Worked for Donald Trump. As He Sees It, Jesus Would Approve". Wired.
  114. ↑ Shieber, Jonathan (December 9, 2020). "Space manufacturing startup Varda, incubated at Founders Fund, emerges with $9 million in funding". TechCrunch.
  115. ↑ Thompson, Polly. "Tom Mueller worked for Elon Musk at SpaceX for almost 20 years: 'I learned never to tell him no'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on September 16, 2023.
  116. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (October 1, 2024). "Spacecraft delivery startup founded by former SpaceX rocket guru raises $150 million, led by Founders Fund". CNBC.
  117. ↑ "Impulse Space Secures $300 Million Series C to Accelerate the Future of In-Space Mobility". Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  118. ↑ Rao, Leena (June 26, 2013). "Planet Labs Raises $13M From DFJ, OATV, Founders Fund To Build The World's Largest Fleet Of Earth-Imaging Satellites". TechCrunch.
  119. ↑ Cendese, Alexander (April 15, 2015). "Planet Labs Closes $118M Series C Round". AgFunderNews.
  120. ↑ Lavine, Robert (April 14, 2015). "Planet Labs closes series D at $118m -".
  121. ↑ "Senra System Raises $25 Million Series A Round". Los Angeles Times. June 27, 2025.
  122. ↑ Chapman, Lizette (June 18, 2025). "Ex-SpaceX Staffers Raise Cash for Defense Manufacturing Startup". Archived from the original on June 18, 2025.
  123. ↑ Werner, Debra (May 10, 2018). "Boutique sensors, commercial tasking could expand market for geospatial analytics firms".
  124. 1 2 Staff, V. C. J. (January 7, 2013). "Inside the Life of Brian Singerman". Venture Capital Journal.
  125. ↑ Tsotsis, Alexia (June 14, 2012). "The Climate Corporation Raises $50M For Big Data Driven Weather Insurance". TechCrunch.
  126. ↑ Burwood-Taylor, Louisa (October 2, 2023). "🎥10 years on from Climate Corp's $1bn acquisition, David Friedberg reflects". AgFunderNews.
  127. ↑ Ioannou, Lori (January 31, 2017). "Billionaire closer to mining the moon for trillions of dollars in riches". CNBC.
  128. ↑ Calandrelli, Emily (January 13, 2017). "Moon Express raises $20M in Series B-1, fully funds trip to the Moon". TechCrunch.
  129. ↑ Johnson, Matthew (May 28, 2024). Property Rights in Outer Space: Mining, Techno-Utopian Imaginaries, and the Privatisation of the Off-World Frontier. Taylor & Francis. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-040-03715-7.
  130. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (February 19, 2024). "Disney star turned space CEO: Bridgit Mendler launches satellite data startup backed by major VCs". CNBC.
  131. ↑ Jewett, Rachel (April 22, 2025). "Northwood Space Raises $30M Series A to Disrupt Satellite Ground Stations". Via Satellite.
  132. ↑ Schubarth, Cromwell (June 24, 2015). "VC Scott Nolan on using what he learned at SpaceX to invest at Founders Fund". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2023.
  133. ↑ Anspach, Kyle (January 6, 2015). "Peter Thiel's Science Fund Backs Another MIT Startup, Accion Systems". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022.
  134. ↑ "The Most Active Space Tech Investors". CB Insights Research. May 2, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  135. ↑ "Hextronics". hextronics.com. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  136. ↑ Kaminer, Riley (July 8, 2024). "The sky's the limit for Hextronics after landing $2M seed from Founders Fund - Refresh Miami".
  137. ↑ Lafleur, Alyssa (April 24, 2024). "Nominal Secures $27 Million to Revolutionize Hardware Development and Software Innovation". Space Insider.
  138. ↑ Nusbaum, David (June 20, 2025). "Nominal Raises $75-Million Series B Round for Hardware Testing".
  139. ↑ "Expanding the possibilities of space-based intelligence". Washington Post. April 11, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  140. ↑ "United States Securities and Exchange Commission – Washington, D.C. 20549 – Schedule 14A". ir.blacksky.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  141. ↑ "Aechelon + partners Niantic Spatial, ICEYE, BlackSky and Distance debut Project Orbion – SatNews". news.satnews.com. September 8, 2025.
  142. ↑ Levy, Nat (January 16, 2019). "Pokémon Go maker Niantic raises massive $245M funding round, company value approaches $4B". GeekWire.
  143. ↑ Matney, Lucas (January 3, 2019). "Pokémon GO creator Niantic closes $190M funding round". TechCrunch.
  144. ↑ Hayden, Scott (January 4, 2019). "'Pokémon GO' Studio Niantic Raises $190M Series C Financing". Road to VR.
  145. ↑ Etherington, Darrell (November 24, 2017). "Pokémon Go creator raises $200 million ahead of Harry Potter game launch". TechCrunch.
  146. ↑ Tudoran, Paula (July 16, 2025). "Peter Thiel-Backed Startup That Sends Drones In Ukraine Eyes 10,000 Units Monthly: 'Absolutely Required' To Win Future Conflicts, CEO Warns". Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  147. ↑ "Thiel Foundation Announces 2025 Class of Thiel Fellows". May 22, 2025. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  148. ↑ Chapman, Lizette (July 28, 2025). "Silicon Valley's $4-billion gamble on defense manufacturing". Los Angeles Times.
  149. ↑ "Neros is thrilled to announce $10.9M in funding lead by Sequoia Capital (seed) and Cantos (pre-seed). | Neros Technologies". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  150. ↑ "Quantum Systems raises €63.6M Series B becoming the first European company to raise over €100M on dual-use tech". Tech.eu. October 24, 2023.
  151. ↑ "Quantum Systems Transforms Reliant Unmanned Aerial System into Advanced Mothership for the U.S. | Defense Express". en.defence-ua.com. October 16, 2025.
  152. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (March 10, 2022). "Hypersonic aircraft start-up Hermeus raises $100 million to finish prototype, build out fleet". CNBC.
  153. ↑ Primack, Dan (November 13, 2024). "Startup gets CHIPS Act funding for diamond-cooled servers". Axios.
  154. ↑ Caleb, Henry (July 10, 2019). "Satellite component supplier Akash Systems raises $14.5 million".
  155. ↑ Bloomberg, Sara (November 13, 2024). "Oakland startup Akash Systems lands millions in CHIPS Act funding". San Francisco Business Times. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024.
  156. ↑ MacColl, Margaux (June 9, 2023). "The Overlapping Galaxies of Delian Asparouhov". The Information. Archived from the original on August 6, 2025.
  157. ↑ "Endurosat's Platform-2's launch includes Magdrive's 'Operation Get It Up' high-power electric plasma thruster in orbit – SatNews". news.satnews.com. January 12, 2023.
  158. ↑ Jewett, Rachel (May 27, 2025). "Bulgarian Satellite Manufacturer EnduroSat Raises $49M, Led By Founders Fund". Via Satellite.
  159. ↑ Ludlow, Edward (May 27, 2025). "Thiel Fund Leads $49 Million Investment in Bulgarian Space Firm". Archived from the original on September 30, 2025.
  160. ↑ Garcia, David Cendon (February 25, 2025). "From space junk to interplanetary travel: Magdrive's €9.9 million funding for spacecraft propulsion". EU-Startups.
  161. ↑ Adams, Lucy (February 25, 2025). "Spacetech Magdrive secures $10.5M for sustainable space exploration". Tech.eu.
  162. ↑ Parsonson, Andrew (February 25, 2025). "Magdrive Raises $10.5M to Advance Satellite Propulsion Systems". European Spaceflight.
  163. ↑ Garcia, Regina (November 14, 2022). "DOD Taps Ayar Labs to Modernize Production of Co-Packaged Optics - ExecutiveBiz". www.executivebiz.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2025.
  164. ↑ Clarke, Peter (October 13, 2022). "Ayar Labs' optical chip-to-chip connection takes defense role". eeNews Europe.
  165. ↑ Heles, Thierry (November 9, 2018). "Ayar Labs lights up $24m series A -".
  166. ↑ Knapp, Alex (November 7, 2018). "Optical Chip Startup Ayar Labs Raises $24 Million To Boost Data Speeds". Forbes.
  167. ↑ "Downing Ventures co-leads USD35m Series B investment in Ayar Labs - Private Equity Wire". November 5, 2020.
  168. ↑ "Ayar Labs Secures $35 Million in Series B Funding". Silicon Catalyst. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  169. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (November 5, 2020). "Ayar raises $35M for optical interconnect tech to overcome computing bottlenecks in the CPU". TechCrunch.
  170. ↑ "Ayar Labs Raises $130 Million in Series C Funding, Accelerating Commercialization of Industry's First In-Package Optical I/O Products – Intel Capital". www.intelcapital.com. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  171. ↑ Williams, Lauren C. (May 3, 2024). "Will Australia's giant quantum project bring militaries' fears to life?". Defense One.
  172. ↑ Jr, Sydney J. Freedberg (April 15, 2025). "Air Force Research lab awards PsiQuantum $10.8M for experimental quantum chips". Breaking Defense.
  173. ↑ Lavine, Robert (July 29, 2021). "PsiQuantum crosses off $450m in funding -".
  174. ↑ "PsiQuantum Raises $215 Million, Possibly Largest QC Investment to Date". The Quantum Insider. April 7, 2020.
  175. ↑ "PsiQuantum - Hardware, IT Company Profile, Funding Rounds and Investors". bouncewatch.com. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  176. ↑ Swayne, Matt (September 18, 2025). "QphoX and Rigetti Awarded $5.8 Million Contract from AFRL to Enable Optical Networks of Superconducting Qubits". The Quantum Insider.
  177. ↑ Quant, The (January 30, 2023). "What Happens To Rigetti (RGTI) Now That Its Founder, Chad Rigetti, Has Left The Quantum Company? Will It Thrive Or Even Survive?".
  178. ↑ Russell, John (October 14, 2024). "Zapata Computing, Early Quantum-AI Software Specialist, Ceases Operations". HPCwire.
  179. ↑ "Welcome to Zapata AI". Zapata AI. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  180. ↑ Louise, Nickie (May 17, 2018). "Quantum software startup Zapata Computing launches out of Harvard; raises $5.4 million seed round - Tech Startups".
  181. ↑ Lavine, Robert (November 23, 2020). "Comcast co-leads Zapata's $38m series B -".
  182. ↑ Chapman, Lizette (October 24, 2025). "OpenAI Backs a New Venture Trying to Thwart AI Bio-Attacks". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on October 24, 2025.
  183. ↑ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. October 25, 2025.
  184. ↑ Korol, Shayna (October 29, 2025). "There's a bigger story in the OpenAI for-profit news". Vox.
  185. ↑ "Biosphere introduces UV-sterilized bioreactors to transform biomanufacturing | PPTI News". www.proteinproductiontechnology.com. January 9, 2025.
  186. ↑ Watson, Elaine (January 9, 2025). "Biosphere emerges from stealth, raises $8.8m for UV-sterilized bioreactors it claims can slash bioproduction costs". AgFunderNews.
  187. ↑ Daily, Ryan (January 27, 2025). "Biosphere illuminates biomanufacturing sterilization with UV light". FoodNavigator-USA.com.
  188. ↑ "Bolt Threads Raises $32.3M Series B to Scale up Engineered Silk Fabrics". www.synbiobeta.com. June 9, 2015.
  189. ↑ "With $40 Million in Funding, This Startup Wants to Make Clothes From Lab-Grown Spiderwebs". June 4, 2015.
  190. ↑ Rao, Leena (May 11, 2016). "Bolt Threads Will Bring Its Spider Silk Fabric to Patagonia". Fortune. Archived from the original on June 26, 2025.
  191. ↑ Buhr, Sarah (January 3, 2018). "Spider silk startup Bolt Threads closes on $123 million in Series D funding". TechCrunch.
  192. ↑ "Bolt Threads Completes Merger with Golden Arrow, Debuts as Publicly Traded Company". www.synbiobeta.com. August 19, 2024.
  193. ↑ "Sana Health". mtec-sc.org. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  194. ↑ Philpott, Jenna (February 13, 2024). "Sana strives for breakthrough designation as VR PTSD trial concludes". Clinical Trials Arena.
  195. ↑ Kolodny, Lora (May 26, 2017). "Sana Health aims to stop insomnia with smart goggles". TechCrunch.
  196. ↑ Brunsman, Barrett J. (January 15, 2020). "P&G pitch contest won by inventor of device to ease pain". Cincinnati Business Courier. Archived from the original on November 23, 2025.
  197. ↑ 譚, 菲君 (July 31, 2025). "如果失眠是你的生活常態, 這個智能眼罩說不定拯救你於水深火熱中潮科技". hksilicon.
  198. ↑ Network, Viet Nam News via Asia News (January 28, 2023). "Sleep-aid Device Launched by Vietnamese Startup at CES".
  199. ↑ "The Department of Defense is introduced to Earable® Neuroscience's FRE". FRENZ™ by Earable Neuroscience. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  200. ↑ Brodwin, Erin (January 20, 2022). "Exclusive: Founders Fund seeds sleep-tracking startup". Axios.
  201. ↑ "Báo VietnamNet". VietNamNet (in Vietnamese). October 20, 2023.
  202. ↑ Nguyen, Xuan Quynh (November 17, 2022). "Thiel-backed Startup Looks to Vietnam to Solve Sleepless Nights". Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  203. ↑ Solugen (May 30, 2024). "Securing the Future of the U.S. Defense Supply Chain". Solugen.
  204. ↑ "DOD Releases Final Nine Awards for Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program". U.S. Department of War. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  205. ↑ Marinova, Polina (March 22, 2019). "Term Sheet — Friday, March 22". Fortune. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019.
  206. ↑ Shieber, Jonathan (March 24, 2019). "Meet the Texas startup that wants to decarbonize the chemical industry". TechCrunch.
  207. ↑ Harms, Natalie (May 24, 2019). "Fast-growing Houston chemicals startup closes $32 million funding round - InnovationMap". houston.innovationmap.com.
  208. ↑ Kolodny, Lora (June 13, 2024). "Solugen scores $214 million loan from DOE to make chemicals from corn sugar not petroleum". CNBC.
  209. ↑ "Leadership". Solugen. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  210. ↑ "Sean Liu". Founders Fund. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  211. ↑ Perera, Judith (October 2, 2024). "Founders Fund backs nuclear fuel start-up". Nuclear Engineering International.
  212. ↑ "Radiant closes Series C microreactor funding". Nuclear Engineering International. June 4, 2025.
  213. ↑ Neuhauser, Alan (November 14, 2024). "Exclusive: Radiant raises $100M for portable nuclear generators". Axios. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024.
  214. ↑ "Defense | Avalanche Energy". www.avalanchefusion.com. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  215. ↑ Wesoff, Eric (April 27, 2023). "Avalanche raises $40M to pursue vision of tiny nuclear fusion reactor". Canary Media.
  216. ↑ Neuhauser, Alan (April 10, 2025). "Scoop: Avalanche prepping $100M raise". Axios. Archived from the original on April 11, 2025.
  217. ↑ Senatus, Roodgally (April 25, 2023). "Avalanche Energy raises $40 million to build modular fusion micro-reactors". ImpactAlpha.
  218. ↑ Culverwell, Wendy (October 17, 2024). "Tri-Cities is new home to a Seattle startup's $30M fusion energy research outpost". Archived from the original on November 1, 2024.
  219. ↑ "Electric Program Investment Charge 2026–2030 (EPIC 5) Research Concept Proposal Form". Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  220. ↑ Hawker, Emanuela (November 14, 2025). "Voya Energy Raises $13 Million to Turn Metal into Carbon-Free Fuels". ESG Today.
  221. ↑ Roberts, Richard (November 13, 2025). "California start-up raises $13m". InvestMETS.
  222. ↑ Tomás, Juan Pedro (May 22, 2025). "Crusoe secures $11.6bn for OpenAI's Stargate DC in Texas".
  223. ↑ .G, Priyanka (December 13, 2024). "Crusoe secures $600 million in Series D round led by Founders Fund".
  224. ↑ "Industries". Modumetal. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  225. ↑ Fehrenbacher, Katie (August 25, 2015). "This startup can grow metal like a tree, and it's about to hit the big time". Fortune. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022.
  226. ↑ "Modumetal is winning the war on corrosion with a new class of metals (Video)". www.bizjournals.com. December 14, 2017. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024.
  227. ↑ Lerman, Rachel (August 25, 2015). "Seattle company pulls in $33M to create long-lasting metal using 'nano-layering'". The Seattle Times.
  228. ↑ Szkutak, Rebecca (February 10, 2024). "Deal Dive: VCs are no longer gunshy about firearm startups". TechCrunch.
  229. ↑ Wentling, Nikki (November 10, 2022). "Broomfield startup raises $14M to launch smart gun in 2023". Denver Business Journal. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022.
  230. ↑ Primack, Dan (November 7, 2022). "Exclusive: Biometric gunmaker raises $14 million led by Founders Fund". Axios. Archived from the original on March 4, 2024.
  231. ↑ Thomas, Ian (June 12, 2025). "Gecko Robotics raises $125 million in deal valuing critical infrastructure startup over $1 billion". CNBC.
  232. ↑ "Gecko Robotics Collects $7 Million Series A". Wall Street Journal. August 20, 2018. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023.
  233. ↑ The Robot Report Staff (December 16, 2019). "Gecko Robotics raises $40M for scaling industrial inspection robots".
  234. ↑ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. June 13, 2025.
  235. ↑ Daly, Aidan (December 6, 2023). "Gecko Robotics Raises $173M in Extended Series C, Expands Board With USIT, Founding Fund Members – ExecutiveBiz". www.executivebiz.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2025.
  236. ↑ Anderson, Larry. "Intellectual honesty: the growth of Cobalt Robotics and robots in security". www.sourcesecurity.com. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  237. ↑ Mintrom, Michael; Sumartojo, Shanti; Kulić, Dana; Tian, Leimin; Carreno-Medrano, Pamela; Allen, Aimee (April 3, 2022). "Robots in public spaces: implications for policy design" (PDF). Policy Design and Practice. 5 (2): 123. doi:10.1080/25741292.2021.1905342.
  238. ↑ Evers, Lora Kolodny,Andrew (March 30, 2018). "This former Google X engineer wants to put a robot security guard in every office". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 5, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  239. ↑ Hanscomb, Victoria (June 4, 2024). "Eagle Eye Networks' Dean Drako acquires Cobalt AI".
  240. ↑ Coldewey, Devin (June 18, 2019). "GoTenna is ramping up public sector mesh networking with a $24M C round". TechCrunch.
  241. ↑ Shen, Lucinda (April 8, 2025). "a16z-backed Amca launches with $76 million and a buy". Axios.
  242. ↑ Chowdhry, Amit (April 12, 2025). "Amca: $76.5 Million Raised To Acquire And Develop Aerospace And Defense Products". Pulse 2.0.
  243. ↑ Biesecker, Cal (June 15, 2023). "Anduril Partners With Advanced Manufacturer Hadrian To Speed Production". Defense Daily.
  244. ↑ Alamalhodaei, Aria (February 21, 2024). "Hadrian Automation's CEO wants to defy history and revitalize American industry". TechCrunch.
  245. ↑ Shieber, Jonathan (April 15, 2021). "Hadrian is building the factories of the future for rocket ships and advanced manufacturing". TechCrunch.
  246. ↑ Subin, Samantha (July 17, 2025). "Defense manufacturing startup Hadrian closes $260 million funding round led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund". CNBC.
  247. ↑ Mandel, Eric (May 29, 2019). "'On-demand manufacturing company' to hire 250 for new $17M Cobb County facility". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021.
  248. ↑ Kanell, Michael E. (January 2, 2020). "Despite headwinds of trade, some niche Georgia factories are humming". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022.
  249. ↑ Peterson, Eric (July 3, 2019). "Plethora - US Manufacturing Report, by Sustainment". Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  250. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (February 17, 2021). "Fictiv nabs $35M to build out the 'AWS of hardware manufacturing'". TechCrunch.
  251. ↑ Hillary, Edmund (September 7, 2017). "Former SpaceX employee accelerating NZ companies solving the world's problems". eCommerceNews New Zealand.
  252. ↑ "Charitybuzz: Enjoy Lunch with Scott Nolan, Partner at Founders Fund, in San Francisco, CA". /www.Charitybuzz.com. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  253. ↑ "3D Printing Investment and Fund Raising Activity". 3D Printing Industry. November 24, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  254. ↑ Garfinkle, Allie (June 11, 2024). "Exclusive: Armada lands $40 million in funding round led by Microsoft's M12". Fortune. Archived from the original on July 11, 2024.
  255. ↑ Ludlow, Edward; Bass, Dina (July 24, 2025). "Founders Fund, Microsoft-Backed Armada Raises $131 Million For AI Data Centers". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2025.
  256. ↑ Kumar, Hari (September 24, 2024). "Armada sees a future beyond R&D in India". Kerala Technology.
  257. ↑ Chowdhry, Amit (December 20, 2024). "Armada: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Dan Wright About The Edge Computing Platform Company". Pulse 2.0.
  258. ↑ Hornstein, Julia (August 21, 2025). "Some AI assembly required: This startup wants to make US manufacturing easier than following an Ikea manual". Business Insider.
  259. ↑ Greene, Lucas (August 21, 2025). "Siemens and Dirac Partner on AI for 50% Faster Machinery Assembly". WebProNews.
  260. ↑ Hornstein, Julia; Melton, Monica (November 27, 2025). "Aerospace and defense startups have raised over $19 billion this year. Here are the top deals of 2025".
  261. ↑ Kim, Nick; Sisteron, Jacques (December 11, 2024). "2024 LA Hard Tech 50: Highlighting the Leaders Shaping LA's Hard Tech Ecosystem". Upfront Ventures.
  262. 1 2 Jaiswal, Rishabh; M J, Pretish; Timsina, Nilutpal (December 23, 2024). "Palantir, Anduril join forces with tech groups to bid for Pentagon contracts, FT reports".
  263. 1 2 "New monopoly? Inside VC tech's overthrow of the primes | Responsible Statecraft". responsiblestatecraft.org. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  264. ↑ Field, Hayden (March 5, 2025). "Scale AI announces multimillion-dollar defense deal, a major step in U.S. military automation". CNBC.
  265. ↑ Hernbroth, Megan (August 15, 2019). "This 22-year-old dropped out of MIT to launch an AI startup that just got backed by the Twitch and Instagram founders, and Peter Thiel's VC firm". Business Insider.
  266. ↑ "Introducing OpenAI". openai.com. March 13, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  267. ↑ Muppidi, Sri (June 23, 2025). "Founders Fund, Dragoneer Each Commit $1 Billion–Plus to OpenAI Deal". The Information. Archived from the original on July 24, 2025.
  268. ↑ Sigalos, MacKenzie (August 1, 2025). "OpenAI raises $8.3 billion as paid ChatGPT business users reach 5 million". CNBC.
  269. ↑ Weinberg, Cory (December 17, 2024). "The Under-the-Radar Investors That Wrote Massive Checks to Databricks". The Information. Archived from the original on July 12, 2025.
  270. ↑ Salmon, Kaleah (March 20, 2025). "Databricks & Palantir partner to advance AI solutions". ChannelLife Australia.
  271. ↑ Jr, Sydney J. Freedberg (July 31, 2024). "Supercomputers on demand: Rescale, Parallel Works ramp up for DIU cloud contract". Breaking Defense.
  272. ↑ "VC Daily: Venture Is Still Surging, but Down Rounds Tick Up". Wall Street Journal. November 24, 2021. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021.
  273. ↑ "Rescale Secures $115 Million to Accelerate Innovation with AI-Driven Digital Engineering - Rescale". April 7, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  274. ↑ "数字研发智能计算软件技术公司：Rescale, Inc. 美股之家 - 港股美股开户投资百科全书". www.mg21.com. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  275. ↑ "Rescale Funding & Investors". www.employbl.com. April 6, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  276. ↑ Lagrange Labs (November 5, 2024). "Lagrange Demonstrates Verifiable AI Autonomy in Anduril Lattice SDK Environment".
  277. ↑ Kessler, Sam (May 11, 2024). "Thiel-Backed Cryptography Startup Lagrange Raises $13M". www.coindesk.com.
  278. ↑ Chowdhry, Amit (May 14, 2024). "Lagrange Labs: Blockchain Computation Scaling Company Secures $13.2 Million". Pulse 2.0.
  279. ↑ Dotson, Kyt (May 8, 2024). "Lagrange raises $13M to build blockchain-based cryptographic 'big data'-scale computation". SiliconANGLE.
  280. ↑ Blinde, Loren (June 26, 2018). "Carahsoft awarded DoD ESI BPA for Qadium software and services". Intelligence Community News.
  281. ↑ Brewster, Thomas (June 5, 2016). "These DARPA Darlings Just Raised $20M To Build A Super-Powered Google For The Internet Of Things". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023.
  282. ↑ Loizos, Connie (April 9, 2019). "Expanse, which lets its customers know when their digital assets aren't safe, has raised $70 million in new funding". TechCrunch.
  283. ↑ Franklin, Curtis (September 5, 2017). "Qadium Gets $40M Series B for Internet Visibility". Archived from the original on January 26, 2025.
  284. ↑ Kuchler, Hannah (August 31, 2017). "Qadium wins VC backing for its anti-hacker mapping". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022.
  285. ↑ "CapLinked on GovCloud Accelerates CMMC Compliance for Defense Contractors Handling CUI". Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  286. ↑ Ha, Anthony (November 29, 2012). "Deal Management Startup CapLinked Raises $1.6M From FF Angel, 500 Startups, Others". TechCrunch.
  287. ↑ "Oracle expands Defence Ecosystem with new members to advance AI and cybersecurity innovation". Defence Industry Europe. October 14, 2025.
  288. ↑ Jamison, Miles (November 12, 2025). "Galvanick, Armada to Deliver Edge-Based OT Cybersecurity". www.executivebiz.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2025.
  289. ↑ Newman, Deirdre (June 1, 2023). "Galvanick raises $10M for cybersecurity platform". L.A. Business First. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023.
  290. ↑ Kuhr, Jack (June 5, 2023). "Galvanick Raises $10M for Industrial Cybersecurity". Payload.
  291. ↑ Naraine, Ryan (June 2, 2023). "Galvanick Banks $10 Million for Industrial XDR Technology". SecurityWeek.
  292. ↑ De Cubber, Geert; Le Flécher, Emile; Grappe, Alexandre La; Ghisoni, Enzo; Maroulis, Emmanouil; Ouendo, Pierre Edouard; Hawari, Danial; Doroftei, Daniela (November 13, 2023). "Dual Use Security Robotics: A Demining, Resupply and Reconnaissance Use Case". Proceedings of the 2023 IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics, SSRR 2023 (PDF). pp. 181–185. doi:10.1109/SSRR59696.2023.10499941.
  293. ↑ Crowe, Steve (September 19, 2019). "Built Robotics raises $33M for autonomous construction equipment". The Robot Report.
  294. ↑ Levy, Ari (October 19, 2017). "This ex-Googler is bringing self-driving excavators to construction sites". CNBC.
  295. ↑ Kumparak, Greg (April 7, 2022). "Built Robotics raises another $64M to make construction equipment autonomous". TechCrunch.
  296. ↑ Koetsier, John (March 20, 2023). "Irish Drone Delivery Startup Expanding To U.S. And Mainland Europe". Forbes.
  297. ↑ Daly, Gavin (December 15, 2019). "PayPal founder Peter Thiel's fund delivers for drone firm Manna". www.thetimes.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2025.
  298. ↑ Halpin, Padraic; Cairnduff, Jason (May 19, 2020). "Irish drone operator bins fast food for medical drops".
  299. ↑ Marston, Jennifer (June 19, 2025). "Shinkei Systems will expand its robotic fishing operation thanks to a fresh catch of funding". AgFunderNews.
  300. ↑ Vedantam, Keerthi (June 30, 2025). "Shinkei Sticks It To Fish – Literally". Los Angeles Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 30, 2025.
  301. ↑ Daily, Ryan (June 13, 2025). "Seafood automation start-up Shinkei Systems hooks $22m in Series A funding". AgTechNavigator.com.
  302. ↑ Cohen-Rozen, Maayan (June 12, 2025). "Sam Altman-backed Coco Robotics raises $80M, rides Israeli tech into global delivery market". ctech.
  303. ↑ Rubio-Licht, Nat (November 15, 2021). "Coco Delivers Big Results With Small Robots". Los Angeles Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 13, 2025.
  304. ↑ Mendez, Bernard (August 26, 2021). "Coco Food Delivery Joins the Robot Race - dot.LA". dot.la.
  305. ↑ "Thiel's Founders Fund Backs Nanotronics Imaging With $7M Series B - WSJ". Wall Street Journal. December 17, 2013.
  306. ↑ Varanasi, Lakshmi (June 29, 2025). "The CEO building the 'Ikea of factories' wants to democratize semiconductor production". Business Insider.
  307. ↑ Newmarker, Chris (October 3, 2017). "Nanotronics raises $30 million for automated microscope tech". Medical Design and Outsourcing.
  308. ↑ page, Tom Simonitearchive (July 21, 2015). "Startup Attempts to Reinvent the CPU to Make Computers Less Power-Hungry". MIT Technology Review.
  309. ↑ Black, Doug (July 23, 2015). "REX Computing Raises $1.25M to Develop Neo Chip". Inside HPC & AI News | High-Performance Computing & Artificial Intelligence.
  310. ↑ Higginbotham, Stacey (July 21, 2015). "This 19-year-old founder wants to take on Texas Instruments and other chip giants". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 28, 2025. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  311. ↑ Marias, Stephen Las (February 26, 2025). "Startup Takes on Nvidia with FPGA-based AI". EE Times Asia.
  312. ↑ Somerville, Heather (October 28, 2025). "Peter Thiel-Backed Startup Secures $100 Million to Make Chips in U.S." The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 29, 2025.
  313. ↑ Bradshaw, Tim (October 28, 2025). "Silicon Valley chip start-up raises $100mn to take on TSMC and ASML". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2025.
  314. ↑ McClenagan, Kyle (July 11, 2024). "Defunct tech startup CEO possibly behind Bryan semiconductor facility". The Eagle.
  315. ↑ Tuggle, Donnie (July 11, 2024). "Filing records reveal tech company behind major $10 billion RELLIS Campus investment". KBTX.
  316. ↑ Davis, Michelle F (May 31, 2022). "Andreessen, Founders Fund Back Genomics Startup Exiting Stealth". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022.
  317. ↑ MacColl, Margaux (January 30, 2025). "Controversial genetics testing startup Nucleus Genomics raises $14M Series A". TechCrunch.
  318. ↑ Folkendt, Kathrin (June 11, 2025). "Nucleus Genomics Launches Embryo Selection Software That Lets Parents Choose Traits Beyond Health | Femtech Insider".
  319. ↑ MacColl, Margaux (September 17, 2025). "A Q&A with the founder making designer babies accessible". sfstandard.com.
  320. ↑ Loizos, Connie (April 21, 2017). "A Midas List VC on the problem with the Midas List". TechCrunch.
  321. ↑ Erwin, Sandra (July 24, 2023). "Startup Impulse Space raises $45 million in Series A round".
  322. ↑ Loizos, Connie (September 26, 2017). "Roivant receives bad news -- and so does SoftBank". TechCrunch.
  323. ↑ Terry, Mark (September 20, 2017). "Startup Whiz Kid Vivek Ramaswamy Does it Again, Launches Bay Area Firm to Revolutionize Clinical Trials". BioSpace.
  324. ↑ Loizos, Connie (January 28, 2020). "Practice Fusion, once backed by top VCs, pushed doctors to prescribe opioids in kickback scheme". TechCrunch.
  325. ↑ Empson, Rip (January 29, 2013). "Ringadoc Raises $1.2M From Founders Fund's FF Angel To Connect Doctors With Patients On-Demand". TechCrunch.
  326. ↑ published, Dave Roos (August 29, 2017). "Elon Musk's Neuralink Gets $27 Million to Merge Humans and Machines". Live Science.
  327. ↑ Niket, Nishant (August 7, 2023). "Musk's Neuralink raises $280 mln in funding led by Thiel's Founders Fund". Archived from the original on August 7, 2023.
  328. ↑ Zeff, Maxwell (June 2, 2025). "Elon Musk's Neuralink closes a $650M Series E". TechCrunch.
  329. ↑ Shead, Sam (May 19, 2021). "Peter Thiel is backing a rival to Elon Musk's brain implant company". CNBC.
  330. ↑ "CTRL-labs Fetches $28 Million Series A". Wall Street Journal. May 29, 2018. Archived from the original on May 22, 2025.
  331. ↑ Wagner, Kurt (September 23, 2019). "Facebook to Buy Startup for Controlling Computers With Your Mind". Archived from the original on February 17, 2020.
  332. ↑ Communications, Grainger Engineering Office of Marketing and. "Luke P. Nosek". grainger.illinois.edu. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  333. ↑ Writer, Staff (May 22, 2011). "Big ideas lacking, investor says". The Columbus Dispatch.
  334. ↑ Empson, Rip (February 19, 2012). "GoodRx Grabs $1M+ From SV Angel, Founders Fund & More To Help You Find Cheap Prescription Drugs". TechCrunch.
  335. ↑ Sherman, Christina Farr,Alex (June 20, 2018). "GoodRx, a service for finding the best price on prescription drugs, is in sale talks for up to $3 billion". CNBC.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  336. ↑ Schaffer, Amanda (March 1, 2010). "A Dying Scientist's Rogue Vaccine Trial". Wired. Archived from the original on January 19, 2025.
  337. ↑ Olsen, Dean (August 12, 2018). "Herpes vaccine controversy threatens patient-safety rules, doctor says". The State Journal-Register. Archived from the original on November 11, 2025.
  338. ↑ Payne, Daniel (April 3, 2025). "HHS deputy secretary pick O'Neill discloses history of work with vaccine developers". STAT. Archived from the original on April 3, 2025.
  339. ↑ Temkin, Marina (May 6, 2025). "NewLimit, founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, raises $130M to develop age-reversing treatments". TechCrunch.
  340. ↑ "Who are the Leading Anti Aging Industry Companies". www.rootsanalysis.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  341. ↑ Roberts, Jeff John. "Kleiner Perkins leads $130M round in antiaging startup NewLimit after early results show promise". Fortune. Archived from the original on May 6, 2025.
  342. ↑ "HistoSonics Raises Financing for Expansion of Edison Histotripsy System". Endovascular Today. October 29, 2025.
  343. ↑ Jad, Chloe (October 16, 2025). "South Side biotech company raises $78 million for new drug to kill prosthetic joint infections". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  344. ↑ Chowdhry, Amit (October 16, 2025). "Peptilogics: $78 Million Raised For Advancing Zaloganan Toward Pivotal Trial For Prosthetic Joint Infections". Pulse 2.0.
  345. ↑ Dabkowski, Jake (October 16, 2025). "Peptilogics secures $78M to advance treatment for prosthetic joint infections". Pittsburgh Business Times.
  346. ↑ Peptilogics. "Peptilogics Closes $35.4 Million Series B Financing to Further Advance Proprietary Computational Peptide Drug Design and Discovery Platform". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  347. ↑ Clark, Kate (January 29, 2019). "Wellness startup Hims enters the unicorn club with $100M investment". TechCrunch.
  348. ↑ Farr, Christina (October 1, 2020). "Hims, a direct-to-consumer health company, is going public via SPAC". CNBC.
  349. ↑ Rao, Leena (July 14, 2010). "Khosla Ventures And Founders Fund Invest $15M In Health Appointment Platform ZocDoc". TechCrunch.
  350. ↑ Griffith, Erin (August 20, 2015). "ZocDoc lands unicorn valuation". Fortune. Archived from the original on August 27, 2025.
  351. ↑ Insider, Femtech (October 26, 2021). "Contraline Raises a $10.7M Series A to Transition ADAM, its "Male Contraceptive", into Clinical Trials | Femtech Insider".
  352. ↑ Shieber, Jonathan (April 5, 2017). "Meet the company that's looking to make non-surgical male birth control a reality". TechCrunch.
  353. ↑ Kumar, Ranjit (October 21, 2021). "Contraline secures funding for ADAM hydrogel implant trial". NS Medical Devices.
  354. ↑ Anthes, Emily (August 3, 2017). "Why We Can't Have the Male Pill". Archived from the original on August 3, 2017.
  355. ↑ Bluemner, Paul (February 6, 2023). "Freeform Emerges From Stealth With $45M In Funding". citybiz.
  356. ↑ Ouellette, Michael (February 13, 2023). "Metal 3D startup is betting its factory-sized 3D printers change everything". Engineering.com.
  357. ↑ Vance, Ashlee (February 1, 2023). "A 3D Printer Isn't Cool. You Know What's Cool? A 3D-Printing Factory". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023.
  358. ↑ Allsup, Maeve (June 27, 2025). "Crusoe and Redwood Materials are powering a data center with old EV batteries". Latitude Media.
  359. ↑ Singh, Manish (January 15, 2020). "Zinier raises $90M to automate field service management". TechCrunch.
  360. ↑ Writer, AsiaTechDaily (April 10, 2019). "Zinier Singapore- Taking Field Operations To The Next Level". AsiaTechDaily - Asia's Leading Tech and Startup Media Platform.
  361. ↑ Bellan, Rebecca (April 21, 2022). "Elon Musk's Boring Company raises $675M to scale Loop projects". TechCrunch.
  362. ↑ Porter, Kiel (July 31, 2025). "Elon Musk's Boring Co. Is Turning Into a $900 Million Flop". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2025.
  363. ↑ Kremenetsky, Matt (May 13, 2024). "Boring Company Alum Score $9M for Advanced Composites Manufacturing". 3DPrint.com | Additive Manufacturing Business.
  364. ↑ Musgrove, Annie (November 17, 2020). "Nordic digital energy company Tibber raises $65 million". Tech.eu.
  365. ↑ O'Dea, Blathnaid (December 18, 2024). "Tibber launches virtual power plant in Sweden, the Netherlands". Energy Storage.
  366. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (April 17, 2020). "Trade Republic, a German Robinhood, raises $67M led by Accel and Founders Fund". TechCrunch.
  367. ↑ Rivera, Fernando Moncada (March 14, 2022). "Schibsted energises $100m Tibber series C round -".
  368. ↑ Cadogan, Stephen (February 7, 2024). "Portable sensor tech offers in-soil analysis". Irish Examiner.
  369. ↑ Butcher, Mike (December 20, 2021). "Real-time soil-testing agtech startup Stenon raises $20M Series A funding round". TechCrunch.
  370. ↑ Kluge, Christoph M. (January 14, 2022). "High-Tech für den Bauern: Potsdamer Agrar-Start-up sammelt 20 Millionen Dollar von Investoren ein". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German).
  371. ↑ Griffith, Erin (March 25, 2014). "Facebook buys Oculus VR, a virtual reality gaming company, for $2 billion". Fortune. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015.
  372. ↑ Eisenpress, Cara (February 23, 2023). "Tech deals roundup: Applying technology to fashionable footwear and more". Crain's New York Business. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023.
  373. ↑ P, Madeleine (February 22, 2023). "Zellerfeld Has Launched a Platform for 3D Printed Footwear". 3Dnatives.
  374. ↑ Cruz, Sofia de la (February 23, 2023). "Zellerfeld Open Beta Circular Platform Launch". FUTUREVVORLD.
  375. ↑ magazin, Sarah Heuberger, manager (February 7, 2025). "(m+) Elon-Musk-Buddy investiert in Hamburger 3D-Druck-Start-up Zellerfeld". www.manager-magazin.de (in German). Archived from the original on February 7, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  376. ↑ Newcomer, Eric. "The Story of a Cap Table: Affirm". www.newcomer.co. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  377. ↑ Redrup, Yolanda (May 22, 2016). "Peter Thiel warns Australia's mining, property focus is holding back tech". Australian Financial Review.
  378. ↑ "Affirm Raises $500M Series G Round | Affirm Holdings, Inc". Affirm Holdings, Inc. September 17, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  379. ↑ "Affirm Confirms $200M Investment Round". PYMNTS.com. December 11, 2017. Archived from the original on June 16, 2025.
  380. ↑ Sreeharsha, Vinod (January 6, 2016). "Founders Fund Leads a Financing Round for Nubank, a Brazilian Start-Up". Archived from the original on January 7, 2016.
  381. ↑ "Brazil's Nubank Receives US$80m Series D". LAVCA. December 7, 2016. Archived from the original on July 11, 2025. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  382. ↑ Clark, Kate (October 23, 2025). "Polymarket Is Seeking Funding at a Valuation of Up to $15 Billion". Archived from the original on October 23, 2025.
  383. ↑ Rosenbaum, Eric (June 17, 2025). "Fintech Ramp's valuation hits $16 billion in deal led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund". CNBC.
  384. ↑ Bing, Christopher; Asher-Schapiro, Avi (April 17, 2025). "Trump Team Eyes Politically Connected Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program". ProPublica.
  385. ↑ Kokalitcheva, Kia (August 29, 2019). "The Long-Term Stock Exchange raises $50 million in new funding". Axios.
  386. ↑ Ha, Anthony (March 23, 2017). "Zenreach raises $30M to help businesses boost their marketing with free Wi-Fi". TechCrunch.
  387. ↑ Geron, Tomio (July 19, 2016). "Zenreach Launches With $50M for Small-Business Marketing Via Free Wi-Fi". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 5, 2024.
  388. ↑ Hartmans, Avery (July 19, 2016). "Peter Thiel just joined the board of a startup that's secretly raised $50 million over the last three years". Business Insider.
  389. ↑ "Health Insurance Provider Oscar Raises $80M Series A to Expand - WSJ". Wall Street Journal. May 15, 2014. Archived from the original on January 3, 2025.
  390. ↑ Gormley, By Brian (April 20, 2015). "Venture Investors Pump $145M into Oscar Insurance at $1.5B Valuation - WSJ". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on August 17, 2024.
  391. ↑ Chapman, Lizette (November 8, 2019). "What Happened at Mithril When Peter Thiel Wasn't Around". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2025.
  392. ↑ Russell, Melia (December 11, 2020). "Airbnb's founders are now worth $10 billion to $11 billion each. Here are 13 more who got rich from its skyrocketing IPO". Business Insider.
  393. ↑ Price, Rob (June 10, 2015). "Spotify raises half a billion dollars to go to war against Apple". Business Insider.
  394. ↑ Arrington, Michael (February 24, 2010). "Sources: Spotify Takes Investment From Sean Parker At Founders Fund". TechCrunch.
  395. ↑ Kincaid, Jason (November 4, 2009). "Credit Karma Raises $2.5 Million To Take The Mystery Out Of Credit Scores". TechCrunch.
  396. ↑ Balogh, Shannen (February 25, 2020). "Intuit is set to buy Credit Karma for $7.1 billion — here's what the TurboTax owner has to gain from the buzzy startup known for its free credit scores". Business Insider.
  397. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (April 17, 2020). "Trade Republic, a German Robinhood, raises $67M led by Accel and Founders Fund". TechCrunch.
  398. ↑ Writer, Verdict Staff (June 6, 2022). "Germany's Trade Republic secures €250m in Series B extension". Private Banker International.
  399. ↑ Woodford, Isabel (May 20, 2021). "Trade Republic hits $5.3bn valuation in record-breaking fundraise led by Sequoia". Sifted. Archived from the original on November 18, 2025.
  400. 1 2 Drost, Frank Matthias; Schier, Susanne; Kapalschinski, Christoph; Demling, Alexander (January 14, 2021). "Peter Thiels neue Investment-Sympathie für Europa". www.handelsblatt.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021.
  401. ↑ Kroker, Michael (February 3, 2023). "WirtschaftsWoche". www.wiwo.de. Archived from the original on December 31, 2023.
  402. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (February 20, 2020). "The Org nabs $8.5M led by Founders Fund to build a global database of company org charts". TechCrunch.
  403. ↑ Balogh, Shannen (February 22, 2020). "This new startup just nabbed $8.5 million from Sequoia Capital and others to help companies map out their power players". Business Insider.
  404. ↑ Musgrove, Annie (February 20, 2020). "The Org collects $8.5 million from Founders Fund and Sequioa to publish organisation charts of companies". Tech.eu.
  405. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (September 16, 2021). "The Org nabs $20M led by Tiger Global to expand its platform based on public organizational charts". TechCrunch.
  406. ↑ Rao, Leena (February 5, 2014). "Business Intelligence SaaS Company Domo Raises $125M From TPG, Salesforce At An $825M Valuation". TechCrunch.
  407. ↑ Brown, Steven E.F. (March 12, 2013). "Domo Inc. raises $60M from Bezos, Bhusri, Duffield, others". www.bizjournals.com.
  408. ↑ Gardizy, Anissa. "The 'GPU Whisperer' Making Software for Data Centers". The Information. No. 10 February 2025. Archived from the original on July 25, 2025.
  409. ↑ Kozlowski, Denise (May 30, 2022). "VCs Pour $43M into Software Suite for Builders". Los Angeles Business Journal.
  410. ↑ Sriram, Akash (March 21, 2025). "BuildOps valued at $1 billion in funding round, plans to scale operations amid strong demand". Archived from the original on March 21, 2025.
  411. ↑ Dastin, Jeffrey (November 23, 2025). "Google's top AI executive seeks the profound over profits and the "prosaic"".
  412. ↑ Hernbroth, Megan (April 18, 2019). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund is making its first cybersecurity investment in a $37 million deal with 2 former Air Force pilots". Business Insider.
  413. ↑ "Cyberinsurance Firm Resilience Raises $100 Million to Expand Its Cyber Risk Platform". SecurityWeek. August 7, 2023.
  414. ↑ 投资界 (August 1, 2025). "400 Billion: A Post-90s Entrepreneur Rings the Bell at IPO". eu.36kr.com.
  415. ↑ Crook, Jordan (April 30, 2020). "Figma raises $50 million Series D led by Andreessen Horowitz". TechCrunch.
  416. ↑ Joyner, April (September 16, 2022). "Adobe's $20 billion deal to buy Figma is one of the biggest ever for a venture-backed startup. Early VC investors like Index Ventures, Greylock, and Kleiner Perkins stand to win big". Business Insider.
  417. ↑ Ha, Anthony (February 8, 2011). "Early Facebook execs back artificial-intelligence startup Vicarious Systems".
  418. ↑ Jackson, Sarah (November 17, 2014). "From Jeff Bezos to Mark Zuckerberg, here are the billionaires investing in robots". Business Insider.
  419. ↑ Szkutak, Rebecca (December 20, 2024). "Here's the full list of 49 US AI startups that have raised $100M or more in 2024". TechCrunch.
  420. ↑ "Thiel Foundation Announces Next Thiel Fellow Class". March 21, 2024. Archived from the original on February 3, 2025.
  421. ↑ Bowden, Ashley (June 4, 2025). "Enterprise Software Provider Netic Raises $20M in Funding | Built In San Francisco". Built In.
  422. ↑ "Netic launches with $20M to fix the $500B industries that keep America running | Plumbing & Mechanical". www.pmmag.com. June 2, 2025.
  423. ↑ Opaschowski, Julius (November 14, 2025). "Founders Fund supports AI startup for craftsmen". Veritas News.
  424. ↑ Zaveri, Paayal (November 13, 2025). "Founders Fund Backs Startup Bringing AI to Plumbers and Roofers". Archived from the original on November 13, 2025.
  425. ↑ Chernova, Yuliya (September 24, 2025). "Exclusive | Founders Fund Makes Its Only Bet in Legal AI. It's in Brazil". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 8, 2025.
  426. ↑ Guthrie, Amy (September 29, 2025). "Brazilian Legal AI Startup Enter Raises $35 Million". Law.com.
  427. ↑ Anderson, Dan (July 9, 2019). "DoNotPay: 'Robot Lawyer' Company Raises $4.6 Million". Pulse 2.0.
  428. ↑ Hernbroth, Megan (June 24, 2020). "DoNotPay, the surging startup that helps you fight parking tickets and break up with your gym, just raised $12 million at a valuation over $80 million". Business Insider.
  429. ↑ Levy, Ari (January 31, 2018). "Al Gore's investment firm backs start-up created by Facebook co-founder". CNBC.
  430. ↑ Bastone, Nick (December 2, 2018). "Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz's Asana is now worth $1.5 billion". Business Insider.
  431. ↑ "Asana, Peter Thiel, and Founders Fund". Asana. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  432. ↑ Roof, Katie (September 15, 2021). "Founders Fund Values Identity Startup Persona at $1.5 Billion". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021.
  433. ↑ Schonfeld, Erick (October 18, 2011). "Khosla, Founders Fund, and Eric Schmidt Put $10 Million Into BillGuard". TechCrunch.
  434. ↑ Bort, Julie (May 8, 2013). "The 20 Hottest Startups From Israel". Business Insider.
  435. ↑ Kiran, Pranav (June 6, 2019). "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com.
  436. ↑ "Telco start-up Circles.Life snags funding from Warburg Pincus". The Straits Times. February 11, 2020.
  437. ↑ C. B. G. (September 22, 2025). "Silicon Valley Invests Heavily in Virtual Environments to Train AI Agents". Cyprus Business Group (CBG).
  438. ↑ Hurford, Stephen (May 15, 2025). "How small open-source AI startups are taking on the big developers -".
  439. ↑ Zeff, Maxwell (September 21, 2025). "Silicon Valley bets big on 'environments' to train AI agents". TechCrunch.
  440. ↑ Schonfeld, Erick (August 23, 2011). "The Smart Money Pours $1.5 Million Into Moat". TechCrunch.
  441. ↑ Schubarth, Cromwell (April 20, 2017). "Oracle made these VCs very happy with $1B startup buy". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019.
  442. ↑ Cohen-Peckham, Eric (May 6, 2019). "Where top VCs are investing in media, entertainment & gaming". TechCrunch.
  443. ↑ Coldewey, Devin (April 10, 2021). "Wonder Dynamics raises $2.5M seed to equip indie filmmakers with AI-powered VFX". TechCrunch.
  444. ↑ Jr, Mike Fleming (April 8, 2021). "VFX & AI Startup Wonder Dynamics Completes Seed Funding Round". Deadline.
  445. ↑ Hill, Zane (March 13, 2023). "Startup Seeks CGI Wonder". Los Angeles Business Journal.
  446. ↑ Butcher, Mike (June 1, 2011). "Portalarium secures funding round from m8 Capital to create mobile social games". TechCrunch.
  447. ↑ Brightman, James (July 10, 2012). "Richard Garriott's Portalarium raises $7 million". GamesIndustry.biz.
  448. ↑ "Ukrainian gaming analytics startup Mobalytics secures $2.6 million InVenture". inventure.com.ua. November 16, 2016.
  449. ↑ Ellingson, Annlee (November 16, 2016). "Mobalytics raises money to coach e-sports players". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2025.
  450. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (January 16, 2025). "Bonfire Studios announces debut game Arkheron after 8 years -- exclusive". GamesBeat.
  451. 1 2 Wolf, Jacob (October 23, 2017). "Cloud9 receives $25 million in funding from WWE, Hunter Pence, others". ESPN.com.
  452. ↑ Cooke, Sam (March 22, 2017). "Cloud9 secures investment from Reddit co-founder & others". Esports Insider. Archived from the original on August 7, 2025.
  453. ↑ Riley, Duncan (May 13, 2008). "Facebook Game Developer Social Gaming Network Takes $15 Million". www.inquisitr.com.
  454. ↑ "SGN Acquires (fluff)Friends for Undisclosed Sum". September 16, 2008.
  455. ↑ Constine, Josh (November 15, 2018). "Bunch scores $3.8M to turn mobile games into video chat LAN parties". TechCrunch.
  456. ↑ "Bunch raises $3.8m in seed funding to bring group video chat to mobile games". GamesIndustry.biz. November 15, 2018.
  457. ↑ Cutler, Kim-Mai (May 4, 2015). "Altschool Raises $100M From Founders Fund, Zuckerberg To Scale A Massive Network of Schools Around Personalized Learning". TechCrunch.
  458. ↑ Rao, Leena (March 18, 2014). "Former Googler's AltSchool Raises $33M From Founders Fund And A16Z To Reimagine Primary Education". TechCrunch.
  459. ↑ Kolodny, Lora (May 4, 2015). "AltSchool Raises $75 Million to Expand Its High-Tech Primary Schools". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 17, 2024.
  460. ↑ Konrad, Alex (May 4, 2015). "With $100 Million From Silicon Valley Elite, AltSchool Takes New Approach To Classroom Learning". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025.
  461. ↑ Schonfeld, Erick (October 13, 2011). "Founders Fund Leads $33 Million D Round In Learning Startup Knewton". TechCrunch.
  462. ↑ Wan, Tony (August 21, 2018). "Knewton's New Business Attracts New $25M in Funding. But Some Things Don't Change. - EdSurge News". EdSurge.
  463. ↑ Lavine, Robert (November 17, 2015). "Knewton discovers $42m -".
  464. ↑ Mileham, Arabella (June 5, 2023). "E & J Gallo winery acquires female-empowerment brand Bev". The Drinks Business.
  465. ↑ Hernbroth, Megan (April 17, 2019). "Founders Fund made its first alcohol investment. Here's how the 28-year old woman who founded the company is trying to change drinking culture for the better". Business Insider.
  466. ↑ Shieber, Jonathan (March 23, 2021). "Eat Just (the alt-protein company formerly known as Hampton Creek) has raised another $200 million". TechCrunch.
  467. ↑ Gilchrist, Karen (March 1, 2021). "This multibillion-dollar company is selling lab-grown chicken in a world-first". CNBC.
  468. 1 2 Scherkamp, Hannah (November 16, 2015). "Peter Thiels Founders Fund investiert in neues Berliner Food-Startup". Business Insider (in German).
  469. ↑ Wirminghaus, Niklas (December 9, 2019). "In Deutschland setzt Peter Thiel fast nur noch auf Fintechs". FinanceFWD (in German). Archived from the original on April 27, 2025.
  470. ↑ "Mark Cuban-Backed Wild Earth Launches World's First High-Protein, Meat-Free Dog Food - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine". August 20, 2019.
  471. ↑ Ohnesorge, Lauren (August 13, 2025). "CEO leaves after bankrupt 'Shark Tank' company acquired". Triangle Business Journal. Archived from the original on August 13, 2025.
  472. ↑ Shead, Sam (September 11, 2017). "The cofounders of Google DeepMind have backed Entrepreneur First in a $12.4 million round". Business Insider.
  473. ↑ O'Hear, Steve (September 11, 2017). "Company builder Entrepreneur First raises $12.4M led by Greylock, Reid Hoffman joins board". TechCrunch.
  474. ↑ Alpeyev, Pavel; Hyuga, Takahiko (August 31, 2021). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund Backs $130 Million Japan Tech Fund". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021.
  475. ↑ Cordon, Miguel (August 31, 2021). "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com.
  476. ↑ "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund backs US$130m Japan tech fund". The Business Times. September 1, 2021.
  477. ↑ Brewster, Thomas (August 6, 2024). "Peter Thiel-Backed Cyber Warfare Contractor Boldend Gets Acquired". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024.
  478. ↑ Brewster, Thomas (February 1, 2022). "Billionaire Facebook Investor Peter Thiel Secretly Funded A 'Cyber Warfare' Startup That Hacked WhatsApp". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022.
  479. ↑ Schwartz, Mattathias (October 19, 2023). "Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant". Business Insider.
  480. ↑ Levenson, Michael (January 28, 2022). "F.B.I. Secretly Bought Israeli Spyware and Explored Hacking U.S. Phones". Archived from the original on February 1, 2022.
  481. ↑ Mac, Ryan; Isaac, Mike (February 7, 2022). "Peter Thiel to Exit Meta's Board to Support Trump-Aligned Candidates". Archived from the original on September 22, 2022.