Founders Fund nears $6 billion close for latest growth fund

Founders Fund is nearing the close of its fourth growth fund, Founders Fund Growth IV, with $6 billion in capital commitments, according to sources close to the firm. In the venture capital industry, a growth fund is an investment vehicle focused on late-stage companies, while capital commitments represent the pledged money from investors. Demand from outside investors reportedly exceeds the capacity of the new fund. About $1.5 billion of the capital is coming directly from the partners of Founders Fund, according to one of the sources. This fresh fundraise follows the close of the firm’s third growth fund, which was a $4.6 billion vehicle.

The 21-year-old firm is leveraging its portfolio of companies to drive its growth-stage strategy. Notable portfolio companies associated with Founders Fund include:

• Crusoe
• Rippling
• Stripe
• Ramp
• Palantir Technologies
• SpaceX
• Flock Safety
• Anduril
• OpenAI
• Anthropic

Recent activity highlights the firm’s late-stage investment focus. For example, nine-year-old Anduril is currently reported to be raising a massive $4 billion round at a $60 billion valuation. Additionally, last month, Founders Fund made its first direct investment in Anthropic. Alongside co-investors D. E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, ICONIQ, and MGX, the firm co-led a $30 billion investment into the artificial intelligence company. This investment was completed at a $380 billion post-money valuation—defined as the company’s value after an investment is made. This transaction makes Founders Fund one of the few venture firms with stakes in both Anthropic and OpenAI.

While the firm is aggressively raising growth capital, its early-stage fund activity has followed a different trajectory. Founders Fund has not raised a new early-stage fund since early 2022, when it announced its eighth early-stage fund with $1.8 billion in capital commitments. In 2023, the firm cut that fund in half to $900 million. According to a regulatory filing, Founders Fund reallocated the remaining $900 million into a separate early-stage fund that officially launched last October.

Why it matters

Founders Fund is aggressively raising growth capital despite not having raised a new early-stage fund since 2022, signaling a continued focus on late-stage investments.