Key Takeaways
- • Founders Fund is nearing the close of Founders Fund Growth IV with $6 billion in capital commitments, according to sources close to the firm cited by TechCrunch.
- • About $1.5 billion of the Growth IV capital comes from Founders Fund's own partners, and demand from outside investors exceeds the fund's capacity.
- • The raise comes less than a year after the firm closed its $4.6 billion third growth fund, which was intended primarily for follow-on investments in late-stage companies.
- • Founders Fund has not raised a new early-stage fund since early 2022, when its eighth early-stage fund was announced with $1.8 billion; it was cut to $900 million in 2023.
Summary
Peter Thiel's Founders Fund is nearing the close of its fourth growth fund, Founders Fund Growth IV, with $6 billion in capital commitments, according to sources close to the firm reported by TechCrunch. Those sources said demand from outside investors exceeds the fund's capacity, consistent with most of the firm's prior fundraises. About $1.5 billion of the capital is coming from Founders Fund's partners, one source told TechCrunch.
The fundraise comes less than a year after Founders Fund closed its third growth fund, a $4.6 billion vehicle intended primarily for follow-on investments in its successful late-stage companies. The 21-year-old San Francisco-based firm holds notable positions across AI, fintech and defense technology. It was an early investor in AI cloud company Crusoe, workforce platform Rippling, and fintechs Stripe and Ramp, and was the first institutional investor in Palantir Technologies. Its defense holdings include SpaceX, Flock Safety and Anduril, which partner Trae Stephens co-founded and which the firm backed from its first seed round.
The growth push extends to the AI labs. Last month, Founders Fund made its first direct investment in Anthropic, co-leading a $30 billion investment with D. E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, ICONIQ and MGX at a $380 billion post-money valuation. The firm is also an investor in OpenAI.
While the firm is aggressively raising growth capital, it has not raised a new early-stage fund since early 2022, when it announced its eighth early-stage fund with $1.8 billion in commitments. In 2023 the firm cut that fund to $900 million amid worsening market conditions and reallocated the remaining $900 million into a separate early-stage fund that officially launched last October, according to a regulatory filing. Founders Fund declined to comment.
The fundraise comes less than a year after Founders Fund closed its third growth fund, a $4.6 billion vehicle intended primarily for follow-on investments in its successful late-stage companies. The 21-year-old San Francisco-based firm holds notable positions across AI, fintech and defense technology. It was an early investor in AI cloud company Crusoe, workforce platform Rippling, and fintechs Stripe and Ramp, and was the first institutional investor in Palantir Technologies. Its defense holdings include SpaceX, Flock Safety and Anduril, which partner Trae Stephens co-founded and which the firm backed from its first seed round.
The growth push extends to the AI labs. Last month, Founders Fund made its first direct investment in Anthropic, co-leading a $30 billion investment with D. E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, ICONIQ and MGX at a $380 billion post-money valuation. The firm is also an investor in OpenAI.
While the firm is aggressively raising growth capital, it has not raised a new early-stage fund since early 2022, when it announced its eighth early-stage fund with $1.8 billion in commitments. In 2023 the firm cut that fund to $900 million amid worsening market conditions and reallocated the remaining $900 million into a separate early-stage fund that officially launched last October, according to a regulatory filing. Founders Fund declined to comment.
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