Founders Fund

Activity from announced rounds

Activity in this selectionOct 24, 2026 · AI · Jul 27, 2026

Founders Fund is a technology venture firm with partners working in engineering-led businesses across energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, transport, biotechnology and defence.

The partnership combines investing with direct company creation. Trae Stephens co-founded Anduril and serves as its executive chairman; Delian Asparouhov co-founded Varda Space Industries; Scott Nolan founded uranium-enrichment company General Matter. These roles put investors inside the work of building industrial and defence businesses.

Nolan’s investing focus includes engineering-driven startups in energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, transportation and biotechnology. Stephens brings experience developing products and expanding government business at Palantir, including in intelligence and defence.

Sources
Rounds participated in
5
Confirmed lead rounds
1
1 roles undisclosed
New companies
3
First participation on record · 2 follow-on
Funding in participating rounds
$5.4B
4 disclosed · full round size, not this investor’s share

By stage

Series C+3
Seed1
Undisclosed1

By primary sector

AI2
Biotech1
Defense tech1
Industrial tech1

By country

United States5

Rounds

5 in this selection
Arda Industries

AI software that turns product designs into assembly plans and keeps manufacturing lines current as designs change.

$72MPreviously undisclosed seed
Lead
Crusoe

AI infrastructure combining GPU cloud services, managed AI tools, large-scale data centers and modular AI factories for model developers and enterprises.

$3.9BSeries F (initial close; anticipated total)
Participant
Cognition

Cognition develops Devin, an autonomous software-engineering system, and the Windsurf AI code editor.

>$2BSeries E
Participant
Network Bio

Builds AI models trained on patient tissue and clinical data for disease diagnostics

$50MStrategic
Role not disclosed
Hadrian

Builds highly automated factories producing defense and aerospace systems

$1.4BSeries D
Participant