Capital Chaos

San Francisco based Founders Fund launched in 2005 with a $50 million venture fund. They’ve had two liquidity events since then, and a handful of other very high profile investments (Facebook, Powerset, Ooma, Quantcast, Slide, Geni, Causes, etc.).They just announced a new fund, Founders Fund II which is much larger - $220 million. And unlike the first fund, the money comes mostly from outside investors. The new fund will allow Founders Fund to make 15-20 new investments, including pro-rata investments in follow on rounds.

A couple of investments have been made out of the new fund, they say, but have not yet been disclosed.

Founders Fund partners have deep connections in Silicon Valley, which help with deal flow (Peter Thiel, founder and former CEO of Paypal, Ken Howery, founder and former CFO of PayPal, Luke Nosek, founder and former Vice President of PayPal and Sean Parker, founder and former CEO or President of Napster, Plaxo and Facebook). But they also approach deals differently than most other funds.

(source: Michael Arrington)

FoundersFund
Focus area of primary interest and area of greatest expertise is early stage technology ventures; especially interested in consumer Internet companies. Primarily invest at the seed stage, with a typical investment of $500,000-$5,000,000.  Really strong investment group with highly concentrated positions in technology/web companies.

Contact:

1 Letterman Drive
Building C Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94129
info@foundersfund.com