Peter Thiel
InvestorFounderCofounder at Mithril Capital Management · Co-founder & Partner at Founders Fund · Board director at Zenreach · Founder at Palantir
Los Angeles, CA
Writes $500K – $150M checks · typically $10M
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Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons ↗
About
Peter Thiel has backed more defining companies than almost anyone alive. He co-founded Founders Fund in 2005, which now manages around $17 billion and holds SpaceX, Palantir, Airbnb, Stripe, Anduril and Rippling; he co-founded Palantir in 2003 and chairs it through a market value that passed $400 billion; and he co-founded Confinity in 1998, which became PayPal and sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002. In August 2004 he wrote Facebook's first outside cheque — $500,000 for 10.2% — one of the highest-multiple angel investments ever recorded, and served on its board for seventeen years. He read philosophy at Stanford and took his law degree there, traded derivatives at Credit Suisse, and wrote Zero to One. Through the Thiel Fellowship he pays young people to build companies instead of finishing college.
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDefense TechFintechSpace Tech
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Thiel co-founded The Stanford Review, a conservative and libertarian newspaper, in 1987 and was its first editor-in-chief. Thiel co-founded PayPal in 1998 with Max Levchin and Luke Nosek. Thiel co-founded Palantir Technologies in 2003.
- Education
- Studied at Stanford University (BA, Philosophy, 1989) Studied at Stanford Law School (JD, 1992) Studied at San Mateo High School Read philosophy at Stanford, graduating in 1989, and took his JD at Stanford Law School in 1992.
- Charities
- Thiel governs the grant-making bodies Breakout Labs and the Thiel Fellowship through the Thiel Foundation.
- Communities
- The PayPal team he led seeded a generation of founders — Musk, Levchin, Hoffman, Sacks, Rabois, Botha and Stoppelman among them.
- Awards
- Thiel received the Frank Schirrmacher Award. Thiel received the Axel Springer Award.
- Hobbies
- Thiel is a fan of J. R. R. Tolkien's works and has said he read The Lord of the Rings more than 10 times. Thiel played Dungeons & Dragons and was an avid reader of science fiction, favoring authors such as Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein.
- Family
- Thiel has a younger brother, Patrick Michael Thiel.
- More
- Founded the Thiel Fellowship, which pays people under 23 to leave university and build something instead.
From Peter's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Board director at Zenreach
Intro paths
In turn, Peter can intro founders to Zenreach's investors below.
Zenreach's investors · 2
Founder at Palantir
Intro paths
In turn, Peter can intro founders to Palantir's investors below.
Palantir's investors · 42
Experience
- The Founders FundManaging Partnercurrent2006 — present
- FacebookMember, Board of Directorscurrent2004 — present
- LinkedInInvestorcurrent2003 — present
- Clarium Capital Management, LLCFounder and Presidentcurrent2002 — present
- Stanford Law SchoolVisitor2004
- PayPalCEO, Chairman, Co-Founder1998 — 2002
Education
- Stanford UniversityJ.D.
- Stanford UniversityB.A., Philosophy1985 — 1989
Deals · 1
HealthcareLed round
via Founders Fund · filed Oct 2014
Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.
Books by Peter Thiel
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Peter ThielPeter Thiel's investment playbook is available to anyone for free. His firm Founders Fund published
harbingerhq
Peter Thiel's Founders Fund backs AI tech for ranchers
finance.yahoo.com
Big Deals | The Founders Fund, de Peter Thiel, avalia a Enter em R$2B | #138
Investidoresvc
The Untold Story of Peter Thiel and Founders Fund (ft. Mario Gabriele)
Not Boring Radio
Colleagues at Mithril Capital Management
Network22
▶10 more connections
Carl Gordon · scoutChris Brown · scoutChristian Angermayer · scoutChristian Lawless · scoutChristoph Braun · scoutD.A. Wallach · scoutDavid Peterson · scoutDominik Alvermann · scoutEugene Lee · scoutGilman Louie · scout
Investors connected to Peter in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does Peter Thiel work?
- Peter Thiel is Cofounder at Mithril Capital Management and Founder at Zenreach and Founder at Palantir.
- What does Peter Thiel invest in?
- Peter Thiel invests in AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Defense Tech, Fintech, Space Tech.
- What check size does Peter Thiel write?
- Peter Thiel typically writes checks of $500K – $150M.
- What companies did Peter Thiel found?
- Peter Thiel founded Palantir, Zenreach.
Paths to reach Peter
People who overlapped with Peter at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
Together at Founders FundPeter: Co-founder & Partner
Together at PayPalPeter: CEO, Chairman, Co-Founder
Together at LinkedInPeter: Investor
Together at FacebookPeter: Member, Board of Directors
Together at Clarium Capital Management, LLCPeter: Founder and President
Same school
Also attended Stanford University2,000
+ 1,994 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Facebook493
+ 487 more
Also worked at LinkedIn179
+ 173 more
Also worked at Clarium Capital Management, LLC18
+ 12 more
Also worked at Stanford Law School17
+ 11 more