Trae Stephens
Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Anduril Industries; Founders Fund partner.
Trae Stephens grew up in Lebanon, Ohio, and studied Regional and Comparative Studies of the Middle East at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service before working in computational linguistics within the U.S. intelligence community. He joined Palantir in 2008, leading its defense, intelligence, and international-expansion teams, before Peter Thiel recruited him to Founders Fund in 2013 (partner from 2014); in 2017 he co-founded Anduril with former Palantir colleagues Palmer Luckey, Brian Schimpf, Matt Grimm, and Joe Chen. He has also co-founded Varda Space Industries and serves on the U.S. Defense Innovation Board.
Overview
- Role
- Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Anduril Industries; Partner, Founders Fund
- Based in
- San Francisco, California, USA
- Prior experience
- Palantir Technologies, Founders Fund
Companies2
Affiliated funds1
Frequently asked
- Who is Trae Stephens?
- Trae Stephens grew up in Lebanon, Ohio, and studied Regional and Comparative Studies of the Middle East at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service before working in computational linguistics within the U.S. intelligence community. He joined Palantir in 2008, leading its defense, intelligence, and international-expansion teams, before Peter Thiel recruited him to Founders Fund in 2013 (partner from 2014); in 2017 he co-founded Anduril with former Palantir colleagues Palmer Luckey, Brian Schimpf, Matt Grimm, and Joe Chen. He has also co-founded Varda Space Industries and serves on the U.S. Defense Innovation Board.
- What is Trae Stephens's role?
- Trae Stephens is Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Anduril Industries; Partner, Founders Fund, based in San Francisco, California, USA.
- Where did Trae Stephens work before?
- Trae Stephens's prior roles include Palantir Technologies, Founders Fund.
Sources & citations3
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Anduril; partner at Founders Fund since 2014; previously led growth and international expansion at Palantir. Lives in San Francisco while overseeing Anduril operations in Costa Mesa
TechCrunch: VC Trae Stephens says he has a bunker (and much more) in talk about Founders Fund and AndurilVerified2024-03-02 - 2
Confirmed as Anduril's executive chairman and a Founders Fund partner; became a billionaire in June 2025 following Anduril's Series G round
Forbes: Anduril Cofounder Trae Stephens Is Now A BillionaireVerified2025-06-10 - 3
Grew up in Lebanon, Ohio; B.A. Regional and Comparative Studies (Middle East) from Georgetown's School of Foreign Service; worked in computational linguistics in the U.S. intelligence community before joining Palantir in 2008 and Founders Fund (partner from 2014); co-founded Varda Space Industries; serves on the Defense Innovation Board
Wikipedia: Trae StephensReported2026-07-20