Peter Thiel
About Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel was born in Frankfurt in 1967 and moved to California as a child. He holds a BA and a JD from Stanford University. He worked as a securities lawyer and derivatives trader before starting his own ventures.
In 1998 he co-founded Confinity with Max Levchin and Luke Nosek. Confinity became PayPal after merging with Elon Musk's X.com. Thiel was PayPal's CEO from 1999 to 2002, and eBay acquired it in 2002 for about $1.5 billion. He then founded the global macro hedge fund Clarium Capital. In 2004 he helped start Palantir Technologies, where he is chairman. In 2005 he helped found Founders Fund, where Crunchbase lists him as managing partner. He also chairs or leads Valar Ventures, Mithril Capital and Thiel Capital.
Through the Thiel Foundation he runs the Thiel Fellowship and Breakout Labs grant programs. He left the Meta board in 2022.
His best-known angel investment is Facebook. In 2004 he put in $500,000 and became its first significant outside investor, for roughly 10 percent of the company. He later sold a large part of his stake around Facebook's 2012 IPO and served on its board until 2022.
In March 2022 he was the first investor in Tacora Capital, a venture debt firm. Tacora later raised nearly $269 million for a second fund, per an SEC filing reported by Crunchbase.
Crunchbase's person page lists 143 personal investments and a larger number of partner investments made through Founders Fund. Lounge's earlier Crunchbase-derived note counted 28 investments in total, so the count depends on when and how the data was pulled. Crunchbase marks him as lead investor in a few rounds, including Quantum Systems' Series A in 2022 and Panthalassa's Series B.
Crunchbase data on Lounge shows 13 AI investments since 2023. They include Arkham Intelligence, STARK, Tenderd, Hebbia, Rescale, Mercor, Decart, Etched, Emanate, Objection and Quantum Systems.
Dated rounds from Crunchbase and press: Etched raised a round in June 2024 and another in January 2026, and Tenderd raised in June 2024. Hebbia's $130 million Series B in July 2024 was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Thiel participating. Mercor raised in September 2024, Rescale in April 2025, Quantum Systems in May 2025, and Decart and STARK in August 2025. Crunchbase also lists Emanate AI as a seed round.
The AI companies span software, hardware and infrastructure. Hebbia sells AI analysis software to businesses. Etched makes AI inference hardware. Mercor supplies expert data for AI training. Decart works on real-time world models.
The portfolio mixes stages. He backed Facebook and Emanate AI at the earliest stages. He also appears in later rounds such as Hebbia's Series B, Quantum Systems' Series C and Etched's Series B and D. For AI, the record shows applied AI software, AI chips and compute, AI data, and AI for defense and industrial use.
His other holdings include space (Varda Space Industries), drones (Quantum Systems), biotech and crypto-related companies. Founders Fund, where he is a partner, has invested heavily in defense tech.
The sources reviewed do not give a personal check size or a stated geographic focus. His public companies and funds are mostly based in the United States, but we did not find a stated geographic thesis. Founders should not assume a set check range.
- Facebook (now Meta): social network. He invested $500,000 in 2004 as the first significant outside investor.
- Hebbia: AI software for analysing documents and data. It took part in the $130 million Series B in July 2024.
- Mercor: expert data for AI training. It appears in a round in September 2024.
- Etched: AI inference hardware. It appears in rounds from June 2024 to January 2026.
- Decart: AI infrastructure and real-time world models. It appears in a round in August 2025.
- Rescale: appears in a round in April 2025, per Crunchbase.
- STARK: appears in a round in August 2025, per Crunchbase.
- Quantum Systems: drone maker. Crunchbase lists him as lead in its 2022 Series A and as a participant in its 2025 Series C.
- Tenderd: appears in a round in June 2024, per Crunchbase.
- Emanate AI: appears in a seed round, per Crunchbase.
- crunchbase.com/person/peter-thiel
- crunchbase.com/person/3f47be49-2e32-8118-01a0-31685a4d0fd7
- crunchbase.com/person/peter-thiel/person_overview_investor/timeline
- crunchbase.com/person/peter-thiel/investments/investments_list
- news.crunchbase.com/ai/ai-hebbia-venture-a16z-gv-thiel
- nasdaq.com/articles/peter-thiel-backed-tacora-capital-has-raised-nearl
- cnbc.com/2022/02/07/peter-thiel-to-step-down-from-facebook-board.html
- cnbc.com/2012/05/18/Facebook-Investors.html
AI portfolio
Investing activity
Peter Thiel has made 28 investments according to Crunchbase. 13 of those investments since 2023 were in AI companies, including Arkham Intelligence, STARK, Tenderd, Hebbia and Rescale.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Peter Thiel
Does Peter Thiel invest in AI startups?
Yes. Crunchbase data on Lounge shows 13 AI investments since 2023, including Hebbia, Mercor, Etched, Decart, Rescale, STARK and Emanate.
What is Peter Thiel's angel check size?
He has not published a check size and the sources we found do not give one. Crunchbase lists amounts for only some rounds, so founders should not assume a range.
What stage does Peter Thiel invest in?
He has invested from seed, such as Emanate AI, through later rounds such as Hebbia's Series B and Etched's Series D. He is not limited to one stage.
What companies has Peter Thiel founded?
He co-founded PayPal (as Confinity) in 1998 and Palantir Technologies in 2004. He also founded Clarium Capital and helped found Founders Fund, Valar Ventures and Mithril Capital.
How did Peter Thiel invest in Facebook?
In 2004 he invested $500,000 in what was then thefacebook.com. That made him its first significant outside investor, for about 10 percent of the company.
How should founders contact Peter Thiel?
There is no public pitch process or personal site that we found. His LinkedIn profile is linked on this page, and Founders Fund is his main public investing vehicle.
Is Peter Thiel an angel investor?
Yes. Peter Thiel invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 28 investments.
What AI companies has Peter Thiel invested in?
Peter Thiel's AI investments include Arkham Intelligence, STARK, Tenderd, Hebbia, Rescale, Mercor, Decart and Etched.
Where is Peter Thiel based?
Peter Thiel is based in San Francisco, United States.
How can founders reach Peter Thiel?
Founders on Lounge can see Peter Thiel's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Peter Thiel to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.