Logo: Founders Fund, Public domain

Founders Fund

Venture capital firm.

Venture capitalGrowth equityDefense technologyAISpace

Active^{Source [4]}^{Source [5]}Last verified Oct 2, 2026

About Founders Fund

Founders Fund is a San Francisco venture capital firm launched in 2005 by Peter Thiel, Ken Howery and Luke Nosek. It has funded companies including SpaceX, Airbnb, Palantir and Anduril.^{Source [1]}^{Source [4]}^{Source [5]}^{Source [6]}

Besides its flagship venture funds, of which Founders Fund IX filed with the SEC in 2025, it runs dedicated growth funds for late-stage companies. Founders Fund Growth III closed at $4.6 billion with 270 investors in April 2025.^{Source [4]}^{Source [7]}

In May 2026 it closed a $6 billion growth fund, its largest, with $4.5 billion from limited partners and $1.5 billion from its own partners and employees. The Next Web reported that the prior growth fund made seven investments, including $1.25 billion in Anthropic and $1 billion in Anduril.^{Source [8]}

Watch

Delian Asparouhov: Inside the Walls of Founders Fund: What the World Does Not See | E1183 by 20VC with Harry Stebbings on YouTube

What happened

Launched in 2005 by Peter Thiel with Ken Howery and Luke Nosek. Thiel has been a partner since 2005. The firm filed a Form D for its ninth fund, Founders Fund IX, LP, with a San Francisco address in 2025.^{Source [1]}^{Source [2]}^{Source [3]}^{Source [4]}

Timeline

2026-05Closed a $6 billion growth fund, its largest to date.^{Source [8]}
2025-10Filed an amended Form D for Founders Fund IX, LP.^{Source [4]}
2025-04Closed Founders Fund Growth III at $4.6 billion with 270 investors.^{Source [7]}
2011Forbes reported the firm had invested more than $30 million in SpaceX.^{Source [9]}
2005Launched by Peter Thiel, Ken Howery and Luke Nosek.^{Source [1]}^{Source [2]}

Products and brands

Founders Fund IX: Ninth flagship venture fund, filed with the SEC in 2025.^{Source [4]}
Founders Fund Growth III: $4.6 billion late-stage fund closed in April 2025.^{Source [7]}
Growth fund (2026): $6 billion late-stage fund closed in May 2026, the firm's fourth dedicated growth vehicle.^{Source [8]}

How it makes money: Raises capital from limited partners, including sovereign wealth funds, and from its own partners, and invests it in private technology companies in exchange for equity.^{Source [8]}^{Source [7]}

Leadership

Peter Thiel	Partner^{Source [5]}^{Source [3]}	Since 2005
Napoleon Ta	Partner^{Source [5]}^{Source [7]}
Trae Stephens	Partner^{Source [5]}^{Source [7]}
Lauren Gross	Partner and COO^{Source [5]}

People on Founded, and where they went next

1 person on record, connected to 6 other companies.

Person	Here	Also built
Peter Thiel	Co-founder, Partner2005 to now	Mithril Capital Management2012ActiveMeta2005 to 2022IPOPalantir Technologies2003 to nowIPOClarium Capital Management2002Status unknownPayPal2000 to 2002IPOConfinity1998 to 2000Merged

Sources

Peter Thiel, Immigrant Entrepreneurship (German Historical Institute), 2018-08-22. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Founders Fund, Wikipedia. Accessed Sep 28, 2026.
Palantir Technologies Inc. 2026 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A), SEC EDGAR, 2026-04-24. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Founders Fund IX, LP Form D/A, SEC EDGAR, 2025-10-16. Accessed Sep 28, 2026.
Peter Thiel, Founders Fund. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Founders Fund, Founders Fund. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Peter Thiel's Founders Fund closes $4.6 billion growth fund, CNBC, 2025-04-11. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
The venture fund that spent $4.6 billion in a year just raised $6 billion more, The Next Web, 2026-05-01. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Life After Facebook (reprinted from Forbes), Stanford Law School, 2011-01-26. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

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