Organization · Venture Capital
Founders Fund
Founders Fund is a venture capital firm based in the United States, founded in 2005. It invests in technology companies across various sectors and stages.
Overview
What Founders Fund does
What Founders Fund is
Founders Fund is a venture capital firm based in the United States, founded in 2005. It invests in technology companies across various sectors and stages.
How it participates in the startup ecosystem
The current public profile supports funder capabilities. Each capability below is shown separately so organization identity and role-specific information do not get conflated.
Operational profile
Organization status and context
Organization status describes the entity itself. Funding and program availability appear within the relevant capability profile.
- Operational status
- Active
- Organization type
- Venture Capital
- Founded
- Founded in 2005
- Approximate age
- About 21 years
- Structured capabilities
- Funder
- Last reviewed
- February 26, 2026
Official channels
Find Founders Fund elsewhere
Open the official website or a supported primary organization account.
Capability profile
Founders Fund as a funder
Investment thesis
Backs ambitious founders solving hard technical problems with revolutionary technology. Explicitly contrarian and non-consensus. Increasingly concentrated late-stage bets via dedicated growth fund. Strongest defense tech portfolio in Silicon Valley.
Focus narrative
Defense technology (strongest VC portfolio in Silicon Valley), AI/ML, space and aerospace, fintech, deep tech and semiconductors, biotech, enterprise software, and consumer internet. Explicitly seeks revolutionary technology over incremental improvement.
Value beyond capital
Founder-friendly approach with partners who have personally built major companies. Thiel network provides unparalleled access to government and defense ecosystems. Contrarian reputation attracts founders building in overlooked spaces. Growth Fund provides clear path for portfolio companies to access large late-stage capital internally.
Terms and economics
- Typical check
- $500,000–$460,000,000
- Sweet spot
- $25,000,000
Focus and fit
- Stages
- Seed · Series A · Series B · Series C · Growth Equity
Availability
- Currently deploying
- Yes
Portfolio and track record
- Recorded portfolio count
- 545
- Investments in the last 12 months
- 57
- Last recorded investment
- February 1, 2026
- Recorded notable exits
- Brian Singerman, Keith Rabois, Cyan Banister, Ken Howery, and Kevin Hartz
Portfolio context
Iconic portfolio: SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Stripe, Airbnb, Facebook/Meta, Nubank, Ramp, Rippling, Spotify, Neuralink, OpenAI, Databricks. Recent highlights include $1B Anduril investment (largest ever), participation in OpenAI $8.3B and Databricks $10B rounds.
Common questions
What to know about Founders Fund
Upseed classifies Founders Fund under the Venture Capital organization type. Its current public profile includes funder capabilities.
Source and update disclosure
Know what this page is based on
Source basis
Public organization and program material, official websites, and structured Upseed records.
Last reviewed
February 26, 2026
Known limits
Capability profiles appear only when a structured public profile also contains decision-useful role evidence. Terms and availability can change.
Upseed is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the organization described on this page.