Peter Thiel
Co-founder of Palantir and Founders Fund
The PayPal and Palantir co-founder and Founders Fund backer who was an early investor in DeepMind.
Biography
Peter Thiel is a German-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies and the venture firm Founders Fund, and the first outside investor in Facebook. Born in Germany, he moved to the US as an infant, graduated from Stanford, and worked as a securities lawyer and derivatives trader before co-founding PayPal in 1998 and serving as its CEO until its sale to eBay in 2002. He launched Palantir, a big data analysis company, in 2003 and has been its chairman since.
In AI he backed DeepMind, the UK startup Google acquired in early 2014 for £400 million, and in 2017 was one of the first outside investors in Clearview AI. Founders Fund, launched in 2005, has since invested in AI infrastructure and AI companies, including a $85 million seed round for the Sentient Foundation and Crusoe, and in 2026 co-led an investment in the AI startup Arda.
Notable contributions
Early investor in DeepMind
Backed the UK startup DeepMind before Google acquired it in early 2014 for £400 million.
Co-founded Palantir
Co-founded Palantir Technologies in 2003, a big data analysis company, and has been its chairman since.
Launched Founders Fund
Launched Founders Fund in 2005 with PayPal partners Ken Howery and Luke Nosek.