Founders Fund, investor in IC-related companies, announces closing of $1 billion venture capital fund

Founders Fund, which in the past has invested in artificial intelligence, advanced computing and other cutting-edge technologies, announced on March 5 the close of a $1 billion fifth suite of funds.

Founders Fund V will be led by partners Ken Howery, Luke Nosek, Brian Singerman, Peter Thiel, Lauren Gross, Geoff Lewis and Scott Nolan — a team that has deep expertise in founding and building companies. Members of the team have been investors, founders, and early employees of prominent technology companies including Palantir Technologies (which integrates, visualizes and analyzes information for the Intelligence Community among other clients), PayPal, Facebook, Google and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX).

Since its inception in 2005, Founders Fund has raised over $2 billion with the goal of funding entrepreneurs that have a unique vision for changing the world. The firm, which is based in San Francisco, has historically invested in a wide variety of sectors, including aerospace, artificial intelligence, advanced computing, energy, health, and consumer Internet, and Fund V will have a similarly broad investment strategy.

“We have a clear vision of what the world should look like decades from now, and we seek out entrepreneurs that can partner with us to build toward that future,” said Nosek, founder and partner. “We want to find companies across all sectors and stages that are passionate about developing technologies to address the world’s most critical problems.”

“We invest in founders we believe in, not companies we want to run,” said Howery, another founder and partner. “We find the best entrepreneurs, empower them to make decisions in the long-term interests of their companies, and offer them strategic guidance at every step of the way. We see ourselves as partners to our founders, not adult supervision.”

Founders Fund was the first institutional investor in revolutionary companies Palantir Technologies and SpaceX, and one of the earliest investors in Facebook. The firm is sector and stage agnostic, with a portfolio that includes Airbnb, Counsyl, Knewton, Lyft, Oculus, SolarCity, Spotify, Stripe, and ZocDoc. Recent portfolio company exits include The Climate Corporation, DeepMind, and Yammer.