Thiel Capital


Thiel Capital is an American company described as a family office, venture capital firm or an investment firm, founded by Peter Thiel. In a 2023 article, Barron's described Thiel Capital as the venture capital arm of Thiel's family trust office Rivendell Trust. It was formed in 2011 and is based in Los Angeles.
Thiel Capital provides "strategic and operational support" for many of Peter Thiel's initiatives and ventures. Thiel Capital has incubated several major investment firms—Founders Fund, Mithril, and Valar Ventures—as well as other business and philanthropic initiatives like the Thiel Fellowship and Breakout Labs.

Function and history

The firm should not be mistaken for Thiel Capital Management, which was founded by Peter Thiel in 1996 and was the predecessor of Clarium, which had Thiel Capital as its successor.
There is also another company named Thiel Capital, which is banned by BaFin from conducting custody business. BaFin remarks that there is no certifiable connection between this company and Clarium Capital's Peter Andreas Thiel. Dasinvestment comments that this is likely sheer coincidence.
A registration paper involving Bridgetown Holdings Limited sent to the SEC states that, "Thiel Capital and its predecessors have incubated and launched several investment firms now with billions of dollars under management, including Founders Fund, Mithril and Valar Ventures. Numerous other business and philanthropic ventures, including the Thiel Fellowship and Breakout Labs, have also started under the Thiel Capital umbrella."
In a 2019 questionnaire sent to the U.S. Congress, Michael Kratsios described Founders Fund, Thiel Macro, Mithril Capital, Valar Ventures, Clarium Capital, and The Thiel Foundation as "related subsidiaries" of Thiel Capital.
Max Moran of CounterPunch and the watchdog The Revolving Door Project calls Thiel Capital the most secretive of Thiel's funds and "an enigma": "Its website is just a logo. The only public information about it comes, again, from a LinkedIn page, declaring that it 'provides strategic and operational support for Peter's many investment initiatives and entrepreneurial endeavors.' Another sign that Thiel Capital isn't looking for the spotlight is the name: Thiel's better-known venture capital funds are all named after Lord of the Rings references, such as the godlike Valar, or magical metal Mithril. Thiel Capital appears, then, to be a means of overseeing and managing the other, flashier pieces of the Thiel empire."
The firm reportedly has a notable role in Thiel's political activities. In 2017, Politico wrote that Rob Morrow, then a principal at the firm was Thiel's political consigliere and was consulted when Thiel considered a bid for California governorship. Thiel's biographer Max Chafkin notes, though, that although Thiel's entourage has become more structured in recent years, unlike other billionaires, he never has a real political team or an adviser who directs activities on his behalf. Instead, his investment firm Thiel Capital and other friends and associates form an inner circle that is similar to the court of a king.
Describing his job with Thiel and Thiel Capital, Jack Selby said that "the nest is very important".
It was one of the most active family offices in venture capital worldwide in 2024 .

Investments and business activities

The firm's investments include:
  • Bio- and med-tech:
  • *Alloy Therapeutics: startup developing a line of "humanized" mice to support antibody discovery. The startup's investors include not only Thiel Capital, but also the Founders Fund, and 8VC which Thiel invests in.
  • *EnClear Therapies: biotechnology company advancing device-based therapeutic solutions for neurodegenerative disorders. Jason Camm became a board member in 2020.
  • *ATAI Life Sciences: German unicorn found by Thiel's friend, the biotech billionaire Christian Angermayer.
  • *Compass Pathways: also partly owned by ATAI.
  • *Peptilogics: A clinical-stage biotechnology company developing innovative surgical therapeutics to prevent and treat medical device infections. The company is also backed by Founders Fund and Thiel Bio. Jason Camm and Hannes Holste are on the board.
  • *ChemomAb: Israel-based company developing treatment for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases.
  • *Rational Vaccines: herpes vaccine company that carried out secret trials in Saint Kitts. Thiel Capital and the Founders Fund backed the company. The company was led by Bill Halford, professor at Southern Illinois University, who at the time had a fatal illness and felt that he could not wait for the government's approval. The company was criticized for violating ethical norms and FDA's rules. Supporters said that the 17 people injected with the vaccine already had herpes so risks were minimal; the current rules and processes were too burdensome so companies had to search for ways to speed up the development of drugs. The State Journal Register said that the affair led to development of proposals that could change the current drug-development system drastically including making new treatments accessible as much as seven years earlier. Jim O'Neill was an advisor for the company.
  • *3T Biosciences: T-Cell therapy startup that develop solutions strengthening the immune system to fight cancer. Thiel Capital co-led a $12 million round with Sean Parker in 2017.
  • *SPARK Neuro: neuroanalytics company, which tracks brain activities and emotional responses. Thiel Capital led the $13.5 million Series A.
  • Femtech
  • *Hugoboom: startup which launches the controversial app 28.
  • *Rhea: Singaporean fertility clinic incubated by Recharge Capital. Thiel Capital provided early funding.
  • Defense, aerospace and dual use:
  • *Pilgrim: startup founded by Thiel Fellow Jake Adler, the startup creates solutions for nanoparticle-enabled vaccines and applications in defense. Among its products is Kingsfoil. The investment is noted for the fact the founder cut open his leg to dress the wound on camera. Thiel backs the seed round together with Cantos and others.
  • *Rollup: software platform to develop complex hardware for aerospace and defense. In 2024, when the startup emerged from stealth, Thiel Capital and Andreessen Horowitz co-led the $5.6 million funding round. The founder, Mickels, worked at Varda Space Industries.
  • *Advano: dual-use battery materials company. Thiel Capital joined the Series A.
  • *AngieX: startup that develops nuclear-delivered cancer therapy. Its AGX101, an antibody that aims at treatment of solid cancers, has passed FDA and entered clinical trial. It collaborates closely with U.S. National Laboratories and ISS National Laboratory to develop drugs in space. The research was funded by U.S. Department of Defense 's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. Thiel Capital is known as an investor. Founder Paul Jaminet said Peter Thiel was the first investor, who invested in the company since the seed round. The website of the startup says Angermayer's Presight Capital led Series B with Thiel's participation. Jason Camm is on the board.
  • *Kodex: govtech company that serves the DoD. The company advertises itself as "leading food safety and industrial X-ray inspection systems". According to Bloomberg News, it does data request and partners with Flock Safety. The company also manufactures hardware, like weapons detectors, computed radiography system, aircraft maintenance and repair shop specialized equipment. Thiel Capital is among its seed backers alongside a16z, GovTech Fund, Sound Ventures and others.
  • *Neros: found by Thiel Fellow Soren Monroe-Anderson. The company's supply chain eliminates Chinese components, resulting in it becoming "one of just two U.S. FPV drone makers approved by the Defense Innovation Unit" and being sanctioned by Beijing. It is also backed by the Founders Fund. It allies with Quantum-Systems, which makes the carrier drone Radiant, which can launch Neros's Archer.
  • *Mynaric: Thiel Capital is an investor of the dual-use German laser communications startup Mynaric. Angermayer also backs Mynaric.
  • *Regent Craft: electric seaglider startup.
  • *Quantum-Systems
  • *Stark
  • Cryptocurrency and fintech
  • *Bullish Global: It spinned out of Block.one with initial capital from Thiel Capital, Founders Fund and others including Angermayer, Mike Novogratz.
  • *FTX: also received investment from Rivendell LLC.
  • *Nextmarkets – a data analytics platform for investing, based in Cologne. The Founders Fund also invested in 2016.
  • *SoFi: fintech company that offers a wide range of financial services. Thiel was one of the largest backers through Thiel Capital.
  • *Kreditech: Hamburg-based fintech startup. Thiel Capital invested in its $40 million funding round in 2015. The startup met troubles with overextension, problematic algorithm and finally went down during Covid.
  • Software
  • *QA Wolf
  • *Zest AI: lending fintech platform. Thiel Capital invested $20M in the company in 2013.
  • Entertainment
  • *Legendary Entertainment: Legendary Entertainmen: invested alongside Eric Schmidt’s Tomorrow Ventures and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
  • Chess
  • *Take Take Take: chess startup that aims to make chess a spectator sport. Thiel's approval was key to the startup's development. The two founders, Magnus Carlsen and Mats André Kristiansen, came to know Thiel through SNÖ Ventures. Thiel initially refused to support but was persuaded after Carlsen and Kristiansen took 45 minutes to explain to him at his house.
  • Pet food
  • *Wild Earth: vegan high-protein pet food startup. Thiel Capital invests alongside the Founders Fund.
Thiel Capital acts as the main gateway in many of Thiel's business initiatives in Asia-Pacific. The firm have sponsored Bridgetown 1, 2, 3. It also sponsors Korea-based Crescendo Equity Partners, which by 2020 had invested over $550 million across South Korea and Southeast Asia.
In 2014, Thiel Capital set up a venture fund together with Korea Development Bank. Business Korea saw the move as signalling the interest of the PayPal Mafia in the country, as it was followed by the move of Dave McClure and his firm 500 Startups, associated with former PayPal employees and founders, to invest in Korea.
In 2023, Thiel backed Singapore- and New York-based based Recharge Capital's new $200m women's healthcare fund Women's Healthcare Investment Vehicle through Thiel Capital.
Haymaker Ventures, a venture firm focused on fintech and early stage startups, was spun out of Thiel Capital. Danzeisen serves as head of the investment advisory committee of Haymaker Ventures, while his former working partner at Thiel Capital, Phin Upham, is a managing partner. The company has invested in Latin countries.