Joe Lonsdale
Joe Lonsdale is the Founder and Managing Partner of 8VC, a top venture capital firm investing in transformative technology and life sciences startups. A prominent Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor, he has launched more than a dozen successful companies and co-founded Palantir, the multi-billion-dollar software leader in defense and intelligence. Through the 8VC Build program, Lonsdale partners with visionary founders to create and scale innovative businesses, while hosting his widely followed podcast, American Optimist. He is also deeply engaged in philanthropy, advancing liberty-focused public policy, the classical arts, and healthcare innovation.
Joe Lonsdale Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Founder and Managing Partner
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Finance Intern
Academic History
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B.S., Computer Science
TECH HIGHLIGHTS
Lonsdale co-founded Addepar, a wealth management platform helping investors manage over $7 trillion in assets.
He also co-founded OpenGov, the leading cloud software provider for local governments which recently sold for $1.8 billion.
He was a Founding Partner of Formation 8, the precursor fund to 8VC, which manages over 1.5 billion USD and is one of the top performing private funds.
He was an early executive at Peter Thiel’s Clarium Capital, which grew into a large global macro hedge fund.
Lonsdale was an early investor in Anduril, Oculus, Guardant Health, Oscar Health, Illumio, Wish, Joy Tunes, Blend, Flexport, Joby Aviation, Orca Bio, Qualia, Synthego, RelateIQ, Yugabyte, among many others.
He also founded Epirus, Affinity, National Resilience Bio, LIT, and other mission-driven technology businesses.
RECOGNITIONS
2021 Forbes Midas List: Top Tech Investors
2016 Forbes America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40
2016 Forbes 30 Under 30 - Enterprise Technology
PHILANTHROPY
Lonsdale has dedicated his career to improving lives through philanthropy, education, and public policy, along with entrepreneurship and investing.
He co-founded the non-partisan Cicero Institute, which crafts and advances policies to promote transparent and accountable governance in over a dozen states.
He also supports various nonprofit organizations such as Thorn, an NGO leveraging tech to fight child trafficking.