Founders Fund

Founders Fund is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that backs science and technology companies across multiple stages, from seed to late-stage. It pursues transformative technologies and follows a founder-friendly investment approach that provides substantial support with minimal interference. The firm invests in ventures solving difficult problems across sectors such as aerospace and transportation, artificial intelligence, advanced computing, energy, healthcare, biotechnology, cybersecurity, fintech, consumer internet, software, robotics, and related technology fields. It has backed notable companies early, including SpaceX, Palantir, and Facebook, reflecting a history of partnering with ambitious founders to scale breakthrough technologies.

Delian Asparouhov

Partner

Jennifer Campbell

Partner

Bridget Harris

Associate

Joey Krug

Partner

Sean Liu

Partner

Jeffrey Lonsdale

Managing Director, Asia

John Luttig

Partner

Amin Mirzadegan

Partner

Scott Nolan

Partner

Luke Nosek

Managing Partner

Stephen Oskoui

Venture Partner

Ryan Petersen

Partner

Keith Rabois

Partner

Neil Ruthven

CFO

Napoleon Ta

Partner

Matias Van Thienen

Partner

Past deals in Hardware

Northwood Space

Series A in 2025
Northwood Space is a hardware solution that dramatically increases the number of orbits and frequency bands available for satellite communications from the ground.

Arena

Series B in 2025
Arena accelerates testing, debugging, and optimization for the world’s most advanced hardware. Atlas is an AI hardware engineer grounded in applied physics with an understanding of the real-world environment.

Icon

Venture Round in 2025
Icon is a technology company focused on developing innovative solutions for screen-based devices, particularly those integrated with Amazon's Alexa Voice Service. As a software-led hardware company, Icon specializes in creating smart mirrors and other smart home devices that incorporate voice capabilities. The company is recognized for its professional technology development team, which provides customized hardware and software solutions tailored to meet the certification requirements for Alexa integration. Icon's smart mirror, which features Alexa built-in, has received accolades, including recognition as a CES 2020 Innovation Awards honoree. In addition to its product offerings, Icon also provides industrial design services and supports a wide range of customized designs for original equipment manufacturers. The company is backed by notable investors and industry executives, enhancing its credibility and reach in the tech market.

Icon

Venture Round in 2025
Icon is a technology company focused on developing innovative solutions for screen-based devices, particularly those integrated with Amazon's Alexa Voice Service. As a software-led hardware company, Icon specializes in creating smart mirrors and other smart home devices that incorporate voice capabilities. The company is recognized for its professional technology development team, which provides customized hardware and software solutions tailored to meet the certification requirements for Alexa integration. Icon's smart mirror, which features Alexa built-in, has received accolades, including recognition as a CES 2020 Innovation Awards honoree. In addition to its product offerings, Icon also provides industrial design services and supports a wide range of customized designs for original equipment manufacturers. The company is backed by notable investors and industry executives, enhancing its credibility and reach in the tech market.

Hextronics

Seed Round in 2024
Hextronics is an engineering company that develops drone systems and accessories for autonomous operations. It specializes in Drone-in-a-Box solutions with rapid battery exchange to enable continuous aerial activity. The company offers a range of drones for fast response, security, inspection, construction, agriculture, and conservation, as well as battery-swapping drones and related components. It provides computer vision algorithms for commercial drones and comprehensive support, training, and resources covering installation, maintenance, and operation to help clients automate their workflows.

Nominal

Series A in 2024
Nominal develops a data infrastructure platform that empowers engineering teams across industries like aerospace, defense, automotive, and industrials to efficiently test and validate complex hardware systems. The platform offers multi-modal data ingestion, edge analytics, visualization, and automated validation capabilities.

Nominal

Seed Round in 2024
Nominal develops a data infrastructure platform that empowers engineering teams across industries like aerospace, defense, automotive, and industrials to efficiently test and validate complex hardware systems. The platform offers multi-modal data ingestion, edge analytics, visualization, and automated validation capabilities.

Northwood Space

Seed Round in 2024
Northwood Space is a hardware solution that dramatically increases the number of orbits and frequency bands available for satellite communications from the ground.

Opal

Series A in 2023
Making it better at capturing incredible low-light video. Even in dimly lit room, you’ll get a level of detail and color that wasn’t possible before. The Opal C1 comes with MicMesh™, an array of beamforming microphones that find and focus on the sound of your voice. And with intelligent noise cancellation, every ding, drop and dog bark is filtered out to get an audio experience that clearly speaks for itself.

Ayar Labs

Series B in 2020
Ayar Labs develops and manufactures high-density electronic-photonic chiplets and lasers, specializing in optical interconnect solutions. Its flagship product, TeraPHY, offers a monolithic in-package optical I/O solution for applications requiring high bandwidth, low latency, and power efficiency. The company's products serve various industries such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, telecommunications, aerospace, and military.

Synthego Corporation

Series D in 2020
Synthego is a biotechnology company specializing in genome engineering. It offers integrated hardware, software, bioinformatics, chemistries, and molecular biology platforms to advance basic research and therapeutic development. Its products include engineered cells, CRISPR kits, and bioinformatics tools for gene knockout, target validation, and disease modeling. Synthego serves scientists globally, with sales through distributors in multiple countries and online.

Tempo

Series B in 2020
Tempo designs and develops a home fitness platform with personal guidance to help users in their training sessions. It features live elite trainers who can help users when they make mistakes. It has built-in three-dimensional sensors that track form, counts reps, and recommend weights. It helps users to improve in real-time. Powered by 3D motion sensors and AI, it analyzes 25 of the body’s essential joints as users work out and gives understood form feedback. Moawia Eldeeb and Joshua Augustin founded it as Pivot in 2015, with its headquarters in San Francisco in California.

PsiQuantum

Series C in 2020
PsiQuantum is developing the world's first utility-scale quantum computer using photonic qubits. This approach aims to deliver a fault-tolerant, general-purpose quantum computer capable of addressing complex challenges in fields such as climate change, healthcare, finance, and more.

Tempo

Series A in 2019
Tempo designs and develops a home fitness platform with personal guidance to help users in their training sessions. It features live elite trainers who can help users when they make mistakes. It has built-in three-dimensional sensors that track form, counts reps, and recommend weights. It helps users to improve in real-time. Powered by 3D motion sensors and AI, it analyzes 25 of the body’s essential joints as users work out and gives understood form feedback. Moawia Eldeeb and Joshua Augustin founded it as Pivot in 2015, with its headquarters in San Francisco in California.

Massless

Seed Round in 2019
Founded in 2014, Massless specializes in developing hardware and software for augmented and virtual reality interactions. The company is renowned for its Massless Pen, a tool designed to enhance collaboration among designers and engineers by enabling real-time manipulation of large 3D models. Their products offer features such as extreme pen precision, optical tracking at 60 Hz, tactile feedback, surface sensing, orientation sensing, USB 3 compatibility, and extended battery life.

Ayar Labs

Series A in 2018
Ayar Labs develops and manufactures high-density electronic-photonic chiplets and lasers, specializing in optical interconnect solutions. Its flagship product, TeraPHY, offers a monolithic in-package optical I/O solution for applications requiring high bandwidth, low latency, and power efficiency. The company's products serve various industries such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, telecommunications, aerospace, and military.

Synthego Corporation

Series C in 2018
Synthego is a biotechnology company specializing in genome engineering. It offers integrated hardware, software, bioinformatics, chemistries, and molecular biology platforms to advance basic research and therapeutic development. Its products include engineered cells, CRISPR kits, and bioinformatics tools for gene knockout, target validation, and disease modeling. Synthego serves scientists globally, with sales through distributors in multiple countries and online.

Halter

Series A in 2018
Halter Limited, founded in 2016 and based in Morrinsville, New Zealand, specializes in developing GPS-enabled, solar-powered tracking devices for livestock. The company manufactures innovative collars designed for cows, allowing farmers to monitor and guide their animals across pastures. Halter's technology enables virtual fencing, helping farmers optimize productivity while promoting sustainable farming practices. By enhancing the management of livestock, Halter aims to improve agricultural efficiency and animal welfare, contributing to the overall sustainability of pasture-based farming.

CTRL-Labs

Series B in 2018
CTRL-Labs develops neural interface technologies that enable humans to interact with machines using natural movements and thoughts. Their flagship product, CTRL-kit, is a wireless, non-invasive electromyography device that translates neural signals into control for applications in XR, robotics, productivity, and clinical research.

Indee Labs

Seed Round in 2018
Indee Labs develops hardware and platform technologies for gene delivery to immune cells, with the aim of enabling the rapid development and scalable manufacture of gene-modified cell therapies, including CAR-T cells. The company focuses on non-viral delivery methods to introduce small molecules, nucleic acids, proteins, and gene-editing complexes into immune cells, supporting biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing while maintaining high cell viability and function. Its technology has progressed with collaboration from national facilities and through participation in biotech incubators and accelerators. Indee Labs maintains an international footprint, with an office in Sydney and lab space in Berkeley, reflecting its cross-regional development and manufacturing focus.

PsiQuantum

Series B in 2017
PsiQuantum is developing the world's first utility-scale quantum computer using photonic qubits. This approach aims to deliver a fault-tolerant, general-purpose quantum computer capable of addressing complex challenges in fields such as climate change, healthcare, finance, and more.

Leap Motion

Series C in 2017
Leap Motion, Inc. is a technology company that specializes in designing and developing 3D motion-control hardware and software. Founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, California, the company focuses on creating solutions for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) environments. Leap Motion's technology enables unprecedented hand tracking, allowing users to interact with digital worlds in a more natural and immersive manner. The company serves a variety of sectors, including healthcare, education, gaming, automotive, retail, and the arts. By partnering with major VR manufacturers, Leap Motion integrates its technology into mobile VR and AR headsets, enhancing user experience and interaction. In 2012, the company changed its name from OcuSpec Inc. and, as of 2019, operates as a subsidiary of Ultrahaptics Limited.

Synthego Corporation

Series B in 2017
Synthego is a biotechnology company specializing in genome engineering. It offers integrated hardware, software, bioinformatics, chemistries, and molecular biology platforms to advance basic research and therapeutic development. Its products include engineered cells, CRISPR kits, and bioinformatics tools for gene knockout, target validation, and disease modeling. Synthego serves scientists globally, with sales through distributors in multiple countries and online.

Ayar Labs

Seed Round in 2016
Ayar Labs develops and manufactures high-density electronic-photonic chiplets and lasers, specializing in optical interconnect solutions. Its flagship product, TeraPHY, offers a monolithic in-package optical I/O solution for applications requiring high bandwidth, low latency, and power efficiency. The company's products serve various industries such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, telecommunications, aerospace, and military.

ROLI

Series B in 2016
ROLI is a music technology company that specializes in creating innovative hardware and software solutions for music learning and creation. The firm develops a modular music creation system that features a three-dimensional pressure-sensing digital keyboard, designed to enhance musical expression by responding to variations in pressure. ROLI's team, composed of musicians, programmers, teachers, anthropologists, engineers, and artists, is dedicated to redefining how individuals engage with music through their products, which include a range of music-making devices, software, sounds, and accessories. By focusing on the intersection of technology and music, ROLI aims to make music more accessible and expressive for users of all skill levels.

REX Computing

Seed Round in 2015
REX Computing, founded in 2013 by Thomas Sohmers and based in San Francisco, California, specializes in the development of high-density computing systems that utilize massively parallel architecture. The company focuses on creating hyper-efficient computer servers powered by low-power ARM chips, which are commonly used in tablets and smartphones. This innovative approach aims to meet the demanding requirements of supercomputing by simplifying complexity while significantly reducing power consumption and physical footprint. REX Computing's solutions are designed to enhance performance and efficiency in computing environments.

June

Series A in 2015
June Life Inc. is a San Francisco-based company that specializes in the manufacturing of smart ovens, having pioneered this market in 2016 with the introduction of its innovative countertop convection oven. The June Oven combines multiple cooking functionalities, serving as an air fryer, slow cooker, roaster, broiler, baker, dehydrator, toaster, reheater, and warming device, effectively replacing seven kitchen appliances and reducing clutter. The company aims to enhance the cooking experience by leveraging technology, elegant design, and exceptional performance, making cooking accessible and easy for everyone. Established in 2013, June Life Inc. continues to focus on transforming the culinary landscape through its advanced kitchen solutions.

Synthego Corporation

Series A in 2013
Synthego is a biotechnology company specializing in genome engineering. It offers integrated hardware, software, bioinformatics, chemistries, and molecular biology platforms to advance basic research and therapeutic development. Its products include engineered cells, CRISPR kits, and bioinformatics tools for gene knockout, target validation, and disease modeling. Synthego serves scientists globally, with sales through distributors in multiple countries and online.

Leap Motion

Series B in 2013
Leap Motion, Inc. is a technology company that specializes in designing and developing 3D motion-control hardware and software. Founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, California, the company focuses on creating solutions for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) environments. Leap Motion's technology enables unprecedented hand tracking, allowing users to interact with digital worlds in a more natural and immersive manner. The company serves a variety of sectors, including healthcare, education, gaming, automotive, retail, and the arts. By partnering with major VR manufacturers, Leap Motion integrates its technology into mobile VR and AR headsets, enhancing user experience and interaction. In 2012, the company changed its name from OcuSpec Inc. and, as of 2019, operates as a subsidiary of Ultrahaptics Limited.

Leap Motion

Seed Round in 2011
Leap Motion, Inc. is a technology company that specializes in designing and developing 3D motion-control hardware and software. Founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, California, the company focuses on creating solutions for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) environments. Leap Motion's technology enables unprecedented hand tracking, allowing users to interact with digital worlds in a more natural and immersive manner. The company serves a variety of sectors, including healthcare, education, gaming, automotive, retail, and the arts. By partnering with major VR manufacturers, Leap Motion integrates its technology into mobile VR and AR headsets, enhancing user experience and interaction. In 2012, the company changed its name from OcuSpec Inc. and, as of 2019, operates as a subsidiary of Ultrahaptics Limited.
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