Overview

Founders Fund is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2005. It describes itself as investing in smart people solving difficult problems and says it invests across all stages, sectors and geographies. Its investment philosophy emphasizes ambitious companies developing transformational technologies rather than incremental products. Recurring areas highlighted by the firm include aerospace and transportation, biotechnology and health, advanced machines and intelligence, analytics and software, consumer internet and media, and energy.

Investment focus

Sectors
Aerospace & Transportation, Biotechnology & Health, Advanced Machines & Intelligence, Analytics & Software, Consumer Internet & Media, Energy
Stages
All stages
Regions
Global

How they work with companies

Founders Fund emphasizes founder autonomy: its manifesto says it invests in teams it believes in rather than companies it wants to run, has not removed founders, and has often supported structures that let founders retain voting control. It also expects business models to evolve rather than treating early pivots as a weakness. For financing transparency, the firm publishes a term-sheet calculator and plain-English guide to help entrepreneurs understand ownership, valuation, option pools and investor terms.Read more

Founders Fund emphasizes founder autonomy: its manifesto says it invests in teams it believes in rather than companies it wants to run, has not removed founders, and has often supported structures that let founders retain voting control. It also expects business models to evolve rather than treating early pivots as a weakness. For financing transparency, the firm publishes a term-sheet calculator and plain-English guide to help entrepreneurs understand ownership, valuation, option pools and investor terms.

Key people

6 people
Peter ThielPartnerView bio

Peter Thiel is an entrepreneur, investor and Partner at Founders Fund. He co-founded PayPal and Palantir Technologies, made the first outside investment in Facebook, and has backed numerous technology startups. He also founded the Thiel Fellowship and leads the Thiel Foundation.

Profile
Napoleon TaPartnerView bio

Napoleon Ta is a Partner at Founders Fund focused on growth investing. He holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BS from the University of Colorado.

Profile
Trae StephensPartnerView bio

Trae Stephens is a Partner at Founders Fund and Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Anduril Industries. Previously, he was an early employee at Palantir Technologies, where he worked on intelligence and defense, international expansion, product design and strategy.

Profile
Lauren GrossPartner & COOView bio

Lauren Gross is a Partner and COO at Founders Fund. She leads the firm's non-investment activities, including operations and oversight of its legal, finance and branding teams. She also works with the partnership on strategic decisions, fundraising and limited partner relationships.

Profile
View all 6 people
Scott NolanPartnerView bio

Scott Nolan is a Partner at Founders Fund and Founder and CEO of General Matter. He supports engineering-driven startups across energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, transportation and biotechnology. Earlier in his career, he was an early employee at SpaceX.

Profile
John LuttigPartnerView bio

John Luttig is a Partner at Founders Fund. He studied computer science at Stanford University, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Review.

Profile

Companies curated by Ovii

A selection of companies associated with Founders Fund that Ovii curates for job seekers.

3 companies