(p. B1) Peter Thiel’s venture-capital firm is raising nearly $3 billion—and in a switch from the company’s usual script, much of the war chest will be poured into the swelling ranks of technology startups that have stayed private for years.
. . .
The venture firm, co-founded by Mr. Thiel, typically backs early-stage companies. But with its biggest winners, like Airbnb Inc., staying private longer than startups of an earlier generation, Founders needs to be able to make larger investments at later stages of a company’s lifetime to maintain comparable stakes and a say in company operations, some of the people said.
. . .
Founders Fund has told potential investors that older companies that stay private longer can prove to be more stable, if less lucrative, investments than moonshot startup bets, according to the people familiar with the matter.
. . .
Founders has produced investment returns well-above the industry average, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year. Its earliest funds, from 2005 and 2007, grew sixfold and more than eightfold, respectively, by the third quarter of last year.
For the full story, see:
(Note: ellipses added.)
(Note: the online version of the story has the date Oct. 21, 2019, and has the title “Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund Builds New War Chest in Strategy Shift.” In the third passage quoted above, the quote follows the print version instead of the slightly different online version.)