FoundersFund completes the largest fundraising in its history, raising $6 billion

On May 3, people familiar with the matter revealed that FoundersFund, a venture capital fund owned by Peter Thiel, a top Silicon Valley investor, has raised US$6 billion to invest in late-stage companies, which is also the largest fundraising in the institution's history. Most of that money-$4.5 billion-came from limited partners, including sovereign wealth funds. A person familiar with the matter said the remaining $1.5 billion came from FoundersFund's top management and employees, including Peter Thiel himself. The fund's fourth full-term investment fund was quickly formed less than a year after the previous fund was launched, which was the fastest replacement of a new fund in FoundersFund's 20-year history. The rapid launch of larger funds reflects the rising demand for huge financing from mature startups, which are increasingly inclined to raise funds from private investors rather than the public market. Other venture capital firms are also raising billions of dollars for late-stage investments, in part because technology companies need more capital to afford expensive computing resources. For example, Sequoia Capital recently raised about $7 billion for new funds to increase investment in large companies;ThriveCapital also raised a $10 billion fund, the largest in its history.