The Peter Thiel founder fund has withdrawn the $4.6 billion Monster Raise to be precise. This was one of the largest late stage venture funds in recent memory and could not be a more uncertain time for private tech companies.
According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the new fund, Founders Fund Growth III, brings capital from 270 investors. Thiel is listed as director along with Napoleon Ta and Trae Stevens. A significant amount of money came from the company’s general partners, according to those familiar with transactions that are not permitted to speak publicly.
Axios first reported in December, but the company was aiming to raise about $3 billion, but future investors were never given official targets. A spokesman for the Founders Fund declined to comment.
The majority of capital from the Founders Fund’s previous growth fund has already been deployed, and talking about the splitting of the new vehicle was not realized. Instead, the team chose to raise a single larger pool and overshoot the $3 billion estimate of over $1.5 billion, CNBC reported, citing sources that requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information. A spokesman for the Founders Fund declined to comment.
The fund follows a $3.4 billion rise in 2022 for the second growth equity fund, along with a $1.8 billion early stage fund. That earlier funding was later split in half, reflecting what insiders described as few early stage opportunities. The new Rays show a shift back to larger late stage bets, including capital-intensive categories such as AI and defence technology.
Thiel’s track record is a draw for investors. After co-founding PayPal, he supported Facebook in his early days and helped launch Palantir. Since establishing the Founders Fund in 2005, the company has bets on Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s Who.
Anduril, a defense technology startup founded by Palmer Luckey, is another important portfolio company. As reported in February, Andrill was in discussions to raise $2.5 billion at a $28 billion valuation to expand its next-generation technology products for military agencies and border surveillance.
Startups are leaning heavily with private capital as the IPO window is still largely closed. Klarna, Stubhub and Chime are all publicly available as tech stocks continue to face pressure. Trump’s recent tariff announcement has caused the Nasdaq to fall, forcing more businesses to rethink their timeline. He has now announced a 90-day suspension with most new tariffs, except for those who will affect China – the uncertainty remains.
Staying private has become a safer route for businesses like SpaceX, Stripe and Anduril. Founders Fund’s New War Chest gives the ability to continue funding award recipients in follow-on rounds where many other companies are being locked out.
Thiel’s political proximity is also not overlooked. If Trump returns to the White House, the company’s long-standing relationship with Trump has deep connections with Elon Musk, but could have given him additional access.
Thiel himself has remained primarily from his 2024 campaign, at least financially. Speaking at the Aspen Idea Festival in June, he said: “If you have a gun on my head, I’ll vote for Trump. I’m not going to give his super PAC any money.”
Politics aside, the company’s latest salary increases reveal one thing. Founders Funds still play at the top of the stack when it comes to large late stage technical bets.
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