Thiel Fellowship
The Thiel Fellowship, run by the Thiel Foundation, is Peter Thiel's "20 under 20" program launched in 2011. Fellows under 22 receive $200,000 over two years, along with guidance and resources, to skip or drop out of college and build a company, nonprofit, or research project. Unlike a venture capital fund, the fellowship takes no equity. Approximately 270 fellows have graduated across 14 cohorts, collectively building more than a dozen unicorn companies including Figma, Ethereum, Luminar, Scale AI, OYO, Anthropic, Cognition, Mercor, and The Ocean Cleanup.
Cognition
AI software engineer agent for collaborative development teams
Ethereum/ETH
Decentralized platform that runs smart contracts
swsh
Friend-group photo-sharing mobile app for Gen Z
Est. 2024
Alloy Automation
Integration platform for commerce software
Immutable
Zero-knowledge web3 gaming and NFT scaling platform
Est. 2020
Upstart
AI-driven consumer lending platform
Est. 2012
Simple Sugars
All-natural skincare scrub line
Spatial Labs
Consumer-electronics and blockchain hardware for culture
FacePrint
AI screening for Parkinson's disease from video
Est. 2018
LogRocket
Frontend session replay and error monitoring
QueenBee Innovations
Beekeeping technology improving pollinator health
Est. 2022
Snackpass
Social mobile ordering and loyalty for restaurants
The Ocean Cleanup
Nonprofit developing technologies to remove plastic from oceans and rivers
Curative
COVID-19 testing and preventive healthcare platform
Est. 2017
CropSafe
Satellite-based crop monitoring for farmers
Est. 2023
AirGarage
Modern parking-operations platform for property owners
Est. 2020
Evervault
Encryption infrastructure for developers handling sensitive data
Est. 2020
Figma
Collaborative browser-based interface design platform
Est. 2012