1517 Fund

Firm

1517 Fund

Headquarters

San Francisco, CA

Founded

2015

AUM

$175M+ committed capital across 4 flagship funds

Stages

Idea, Pre-Seed, Seed

Thesis

1517 Fund invests $50K (idea stage) to $1M (deep tech/sci-fi seed) — averaging roughly $400K at pre-seed — in uncredentialed, renegade founders that traditional venture and academic institutions overlook.

• CompanySolideonBuilds Aperture, an autonomous multi-robot manufacturing system for large aerospace structures.

• FounderDanielle StrachmanCo-founder and General Partner of fund:1517-fund, an anti-establishment VC firm backing uncredentialed and dropout founders in deep tech; founding director of the Thiel Fellowship (2010), where she helped identify and launch early cohorts including Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum) and Dylan Field (Figma).
• FounderMichael GibsonCo-founder and General Partner of 1517 Fund, backing uncredentialed and dropout founders in deep tech; co-founded the Thiel Fellowship with Danielle Strachman in 2010; author of Paper Belt on Fire (2022), a critique of the higher-education bubble.

What is 1517 Fund?

1517 Fund invests $50K (idea stage) to $1M (deep tech/sci-fi seed) — averaging roughly $400K at pre-seed — in uncredentialed, renegade founders that traditional venture and academic institutions overlook.

How much does 1517 Fund manage?

1517 Fund manages $175M+ committed capital across 4 flagship funds in assets, and was founded in 2015.

What stages does 1517 Fund invest at?

1517 Fund invests at Idea, Pre-Seed, Seed.

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