Key Takeaways
- • Jack Selby, Managing Director at Peter Thiel's family office Thiel Capital and early PayPal employee, is raising up to $300 million for the second fund of Copper Sky, an Arizona-focused venture firm, targeting family offices across the Middle East, Europe, and central United States.
- • Selby's first fund under Copper Sky (formerly AZ-VC) invested primarily in local Arizona startups in bookkeeping, construction, and hospitality sectors, drawing capital mainly from regional investors before expanding internationally.
- • The capital raise reflects a broader shift in US venture investing away from Silicon Valley dominance, driven by remote work adoption and cost advantages in emerging regional tech hubs beyond the Bay Area.
- • Selby's prior investment track record includes early stakes in SpaceX, Palantir, and Affirm Holdings (led by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin), positions he liquidated by late 2022 ahead of launching his independent venture platform.
- • The initiative operates independently from Peter Thiel's portfolio despite Selby's continued role at Thiel Capital, with Thiel not listed as a named investor in the Copper Sky fund.
Summary
Jack Selby, Managing Director at Peter Thiel's family office Thiel Capital and a member of the original PayPal cohort, is aggressively expanding his fundraising efforts for Copper Sky, an Arizona-focused venture capital fund. According to Bloomberg, Selby is courting family offices across the Middle East, Europe, and central United States to raise as much as $300 million for the fund's second close. This capital expansion marks a significant scaling of the investor base after the firm's first fund relied predominantly on local Arizona-based capital providers.
Copper Sky, previously operating under the name AZ-VC, has deployed its initial capital into early-stage companies operating in Arizona's regional economy, including startups in bookkeeping, construction, and hospitality sectors. This geographic focus represents a deliberate pivot from traditional Silicon Valley venture investing. Selby's strategy reflects an emerging recognition within the venture ecosystem that technology innovation and cost-effective growth opportunities exist beyond California's Bay Area, particularly as remote work infrastructure matures and founder location becomes less constraining.
Selby brings substantial credibility to regional venture investing given his extensive track record with transformational technology companies. As an early PayPal employee and angel investor, he maintained stakes in several marquee technology companies including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Palantir Technologies, both now among the world's most valuable private companies. He also invested in Affirm Holdings, the fintech platform founded by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin. Selby had exited these positions by late 2022, coinciding with his public launch of the Copper Sky venture platform as an independent operation distinct from his Thiel Capital responsibilities.
The capital raise underscores a structural shift in US venture investment geography. While Silicon Valley and the Bay Area remain dominant, emerging regional hubs are attracting institutional capital and talent through lower operating costs and quality-of-life advantages tied to distributed work models. For family offices globally, Selby's strategy presents an alternative thesis to concentrated Bay Area exposure, offering geographic diversification within the US venture ecosystem while maintaining exposure to technology-driven companies and entrepreneurial talent outside traditional venture strongholds.
Copper Sky, previously operating under the name AZ-VC, has deployed its initial capital into early-stage companies operating in Arizona's regional economy, including startups in bookkeeping, construction, and hospitality sectors. This geographic focus represents a deliberate pivot from traditional Silicon Valley venture investing. Selby's strategy reflects an emerging recognition within the venture ecosystem that technology innovation and cost-effective growth opportunities exist beyond California's Bay Area, particularly as remote work infrastructure matures and founder location becomes less constraining.
Selby brings substantial credibility to regional venture investing given his extensive track record with transformational technology companies. As an early PayPal employee and angel investor, he maintained stakes in several marquee technology companies including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Palantir Technologies, both now among the world's most valuable private companies. He also invested in Affirm Holdings, the fintech platform founded by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin. Selby had exited these positions by late 2022, coinciding with his public launch of the Copper Sky venture platform as an independent operation distinct from his Thiel Capital responsibilities.
The capital raise underscores a structural shift in US venture investment geography. While Silicon Valley and the Bay Area remain dominant, emerging regional hubs are attracting institutional capital and talent through lower operating costs and quality-of-life advantages tied to distributed work models. For family offices globally, Selby's strategy presents an alternative thesis to concentrated Bay Area exposure, offering geographic diversification within the US venture ecosystem while maintaining exposure to technology-driven companies and entrepreneurial talent outside traditional venture strongholds.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.