Investments
914Portfolio Exits
157Funds
15Partners & Customers
1About Founders Fund
Founders Fund is a venture capital firm. It invests in science and technology companies. The firm invests at all stages across a wide variety of sectors, including aerospace, artificial intelligence, advanced computing, energy, health, and consumer Internet. It was founded in 2005 and is based in San Francisco, California.
Expert Collections containing Founders Fund
Expert Collections are analyst-curated lists that highlight the companies you need to know in the most important technology spaces.
Find Founders Fund in 10 Expert Collections, including Direct-To-Consumer Brands (Non-Food).
Direct-To-Consumer Brands (Non-Food)
37 items
Startups selling their own branded products directly to consumers via online/mobile channels, rather than relying on department stores or big online marketplaces.
Store tech (In-store retail tech)
56 items
Startups aiming work with retailers to improve brick-and-mortar retail operations.
Synthetic Biology
382 items
Food & Beverage
123 items
Travel Technology (Travel Tech)
39 items
Tech-enabled companies offering services and products focused on tourism. This collection includes booking services, search platforms, on-demand travel and recommendation sites, among others.
Education Technology (Edtech)
58 items
Research containing Founders Fund
Get data-driven expert analysis from the CB Insights Intelligence Unit.
CB Insights Intelligence Analysts have mentioned Founders Fund in 9 CB Insights research briefs, most recently on Oct 24, 2024.
Oct 24, 2024 report
Fintech 100: The most promising fintech startups of 2024
May 29, 2024
483 startup failure post-mortems
Latest Founders Fund News
Nov 4, 2024
Top Down Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by industry visionary Chris Day, announced the first closing of its $25 million Founders Fund, designed for fueling early-stage SaaS companies within the Managed Service Provider (MSP) sector. Building on an innovative venture studio model, Top Down empowers MSP software startups with capital, unparalleled operational expertise, and a proven scaling playbook. And the firm’s General Partners – Chris Day, Joel Abramson, and Mark Scott – boast a remarkable track record in the MSP space, such as founding and scaling companies like Fully Managed (acquired by TELUS), IT Glue (acquired by Kaseya), N-able (now a public company), ScalePad, and Produce8 with prior investments in leading MSP software firms such as Backup Radar, Quoter, Control Map, and Benji Pays. Top Down’s Founders Fund targets high-potential SaaS companies generating $1+ million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), with Seed or Series A investments up to $3 million. And with a carefully curated network of Limited Partners and Operating Advisors, including MSP veterans like Dan Wensley, Janice Siddons and Ryan Voegeli – the fund is uniquely positioned to amplify the success of its portfolio companies. Top Down offers financial backing but also utilizes its deep operational experience to drive growth for its portfolio companies. And the firm’s venture studio model includes expert guidance in product development, go-to-market strategies, and team building, ensuring that founders receive both strategic and tactical support. KEY QUOTES: “We are thrilled with this milestone, which reflects the confidence of MSP founders and executives who make up the majority of our Limited Partners. Our deep sector focus and hands-on approach are already driving momentum as we anticipate closing three new SaaS investments in Q4.” – Joel Abramson, Managing Partner at Top Down “We’ve been at the forefront of several firsts in the MSP industry, and this fund is the next one. Our capital, SaaS playbook, and venture studio combined with our global network, provide an unparalleled force multiplier for SaaS startups in an industry that’s on track to reach $1 trillion by 2030.” – Mark Scott, Managing Partner at Top Down Pulse 2.0 focuses on business news, profiles, and deal flow coverage.
Founders Fund Investments
914 Investments
Founders Fund has made 914 investments. Their latest investment was in Chainway as part of their Series A on October 31, 2024.
Founders Fund Investments Activity
Date | Round | Company | Amount | New? | Co-Investors | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10/31/2024 | Series A | Chainway | $14M | Yes | Amanda Fabiano, Axiom BTC Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, dao5, DiscusFish, ECHO, Eric Yakes, Erik Voorhees, Jameson Lopp, Joseph Lau, Maven 11 Capital, Mert Mumtaz, Mirana Ventures, Mustafa Al-Bassam, Nathan McCauley, Nikil Viswanathan, Teck Chia, Undisclosed Angel Investors, Undisclosed Venture Investors, and Zero Knowledge Validator | 2 |
10/29/2024 | Series D | Crusoe | $500M | No | 2 | |
10/10/2024 | Series A | Numeric | $28M | No | 8VC, Access Industries, Fifth Down Capital, Friends & Family Capital, Institutional Venture Partners, Long Journey Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Socii Capital, and Undisclosed Investors | 4 |
10/1/2024 | Series B | |||||
9/17/2024 | Seed VC - II |
Date | 10/31/2024 | 10/29/2024 | 10/10/2024 | 10/1/2024 | 9/17/2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Series A | Series D | Series A | Series B | Seed VC - II |
Company | Chainway | Crusoe | Numeric | ||
Amount | $14M | $500M | $28M | ||
New? | Yes | No | No | ||
Co-Investors | Amanda Fabiano, Axiom BTC Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, dao5, DiscusFish, ECHO, Eric Yakes, Erik Voorhees, Jameson Lopp, Joseph Lau, Maven 11 Capital, Mert Mumtaz, Mirana Ventures, Mustafa Al-Bassam, Nathan McCauley, Nikil Viswanathan, Teck Chia, Undisclosed Angel Investors, Undisclosed Venture Investors, and Zero Knowledge Validator | 8VC, Access Industries, Fifth Down Capital, Friends & Family Capital, Institutional Venture Partners, Long Journey Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Socii Capital, and Undisclosed Investors | |||
Sources | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Founders Fund Portfolio Exits
157 Portfolio Exits
Founders Fund has 157 portfolio exits. Their latest portfolio exit was Llama on November 01, 2024.
Date | Exit | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Acquirer | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11/1/2024 | Acquired | River Protocol | 2 | ||
10/1/2024 | Acquired | 2 | |||
8/28/2024 | Merger | 2 | |||
Date | 11/1/2024 | 10/1/2024 | 8/28/2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exit | Acquired | Acquired | Merger | ||
Companies | |||||
Valuation | |||||
Acquirer | River Protocol | ||||
Sources | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Founders Fund Fund History
15 Fund Histories
Founders Fund has 15 funds, including Founders Fund VIII.
Closing Date | Fund | Fund Type | Status | Amount | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3/3/2022 | Founders Fund VIII | $1,900M | 2 | ||
3/3/2022 | Founders Growth Fund | $3,400M | 1 | ||
3/26/2020 | Founders Fund Growth Principals Fund | $101.54M | 1 | ||
2/19/2020 | Founders Fund Growth I | ||||
11/20/2019 | Founders Fund VII |
Closing Date | 3/3/2022 | 3/3/2022 | 3/26/2020 | 2/19/2020 | 11/20/2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fund | Founders Fund VIII | Founders Growth Fund | Founders Fund Growth Principals Fund | Founders Fund Growth I | Founders Fund VII |
Fund Type | |||||
Status | |||||
Amount | $1,900M | $3,400M | $101.54M | ||
Sources | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Founders Fund Partners & Customers
1 Partners and customers
Founders Fund has 1 strategic partners and customers. Founders Fund recently partnered with SVB Financial Group on .
Date | Type | Business Partner | Country | News Snippet | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vendor | United States | 1 |
Date | |
|---|---|
Type | Vendor |
Business Partner | |
Country | United States |
News Snippet | |
Sources | 1 |
Founders Fund Team
9 Team Members
Founders Fund has 9 team members, including current Chief Financial Officer, Neil Ruthven.
Name | Work History | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Neil Ruthven | VantagePoint Capital Partners, 3i Group, Merriman Capital, and EY | Chief Financial Officer | Current |
Name | Neil Ruthven | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Work History | VantagePoint Capital Partners, 3i Group, Merriman Capital, and EY | ||||
Title | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
Status | Current |
Compare Founders Fund to Competitors
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm with $4.2 billion under management. The firm invests in entrepreneurs building companies at every stage, from seed to growth. It seeks to invest in sectors such as bio and healthcare, consumer, cryptocurrency, enterprise, fintech, and games. It was founded in 2009 and is based in Menlo Park, California.
Lightspeed Venture Partners operates as an early-stage venture capital firm. It focuses on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the enterprise and consumer sectors. It was founded in 2000 and is based in Menlo Park, California.
Insight Partners is a global venture capital and private equity firm. It seeks to invest in mobile, cybersecurity, big data, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, and construction technology sectors. Insight Partners was formerly known as Insight Venture Partners. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in New York, New York.
Kleiner Perkins serves as a venture capital firm with a focus on technology and life sciences sectors. The company invests in innovative and forward-thinking startups, offering financial support and strategic partnerships to help them grow. Kleiner Perkins primarily serves sectors such as software, biotechnology, healthcare, and internet technology. It was founded in 1972 and is based in Menlo Park, California.
Sequoia Capital serves as a venture capital firm that focuses on supporting startups from inception to IPO within various sectors. It provides investment funding and strategic support to help companies grow and succeed. Sequoia Capital primarily serves technology-driven sectors and businesses aiming to become market leaders. It was founded in 1972 and is based in Menlo Park, California.
Bessemer Venture Partners works as a venture capital firm with offices in New York, Silicon Valley, Boston, Mumbai, and Herzliya. Bessemer primarily invests in early-stage opportunities but also participates in late-stage financing and occasionally makes seed-stage investments as well. The firm invests in the following areas: cleantech, data security, financial services, healthcare, online retail, and SaaS. Bessemer Venture Partners typically makes investments in the range of $4M–$10M. It was founded in 1911 and is based in San Francisco, California.
Loading...