Founders Fund nears $6B close for latest growth fund, sources say
Source: TechCrunch
Fundraising Update
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. Demand from outside investors exceeds the fund’s capacity, and about $1.5 billion of the capital is coming from the Founders Fund’s partners.
Previous Growth Fund
The firm closed its third growth fund less than a year earlier, a $4.6 billion vehicle intended primarily for follow‑on investments in its successful late‑stage companies.
Portfolio Highlights
Founders Fund’s 21‑year‑old portfolio includes early investments in:
- AI cloud computing company Crusoe
- Workforce management platform Rippling
- Fintechs Stripe and Ramp
The firm was also the first institutional investor in data‑analytics giant Palantir Technologies and holds stakes in several defense‑tech companies, including SpaceX, Flock Safety, and Anduril (co‑founded by Founders Fund partner Trae Stephens). Anduril, now nine years old, is reported to be raising a massive $4 billion round at a $60 billion valuation.
Recent Direct Investment
Last month, the San Francisco‑based firm made its first direct investment in Anthropic. Founders Fund, together with D. E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, ICONIQ, and MGX, co‑led a $30 billion investment into the AI company at a $380 billion post‑money valuation. This makes Founders Fund one of the few firms with significant stakes in both leading AI labs—it is also an investor in OpenAI.
Early‑Stage Fund Activity
Founders Fund has not raised a new early‑stage fund since early 2022, when it announced its eighth early‑stage fund with $1.8 billion in capital commitments. In 2023, the firm cut that fund in half to $900 million in response to worsening conditions and reallocated the remaining $900 million into a separate early‑stage fund that officially launched in October, according to a regulatory filing.
Founders Fund declined to comment.