Founders Fund, the venture capital firm owned by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, is nearing the close of its fourth growth fund — Founders Fund Growth IV — and has already raised $6 billion in capital commitments, sources familiar with the matter said.
As with previous fundraisings, demand from outside investors is outstripping the fund’s size, according to sources close to the company. About $1.5 billion of the funds raised come from Founders Fund partners’ own funds.
The new fund follows the company’s $4.6 billion growth fund closed last year, which was designed to make additional investments in successful, early-stage startups in its portfolio.
Strong startup portfolio
Founders Fund, which has a 21-year history, is an early investor in a number of well-known technology companies. The company has made early-stage investments in the following startups:
Crusoe
Rippling
Stripe
Ramp
The fund was also one of the first institutional investors in data analytics giant Palantir Technologies.
The company also has stakes in a number of companies operating in the defense technology sector, including:
SpaceX
Flock Safety
Anduril Industries
The nine-year-old Anduril is reportedly seeking a new $4 billion investment round at a $60 billion valuation.
A major investment in the AI sector
Founders Fund has also been actively investing in the AI sector recently. Last month, the San Francisco-based fund made its first direct investment in AI company Anthropic.
Founders Fund co-led a $30 billion investment round in Anthropic, which valued the company at $380 billion. The fund is also an investor in OpenAI, making it one of the few investors with a stake in two leading AI labs.
Changes in early-stage funds
However, Founders Fund has not launched a new early-stage fund since 2022. That year, the company announced its eighth early-stage fund, worth $1.8 billion.
However, due to deteriorating market conditions, the fund was halved in size in 2023 to $900 million. The remaining $900 million was directed to a separate early-stage fund, which officially launched last October.
Founders Fund declined to comment on the matter.
