Joe Lonsdale

Joseph Lonsdale (born 1982 or 1983) is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He co-founded companies including Palantir Technologies, Addepar, and OpenGov, and co-founded and serves as the managing partner at the technology investment firm 8VC.

Lonsdale began his career as an intern at PayPal, then worked as an early executive at Clarium Capital, a hedge fund run by Lonsdale's mentor, Peter Thiel. In 2004, he, Thiel, Alex Karp, Stephen Cohen, and Nathan Gettings co-founded Palantir Technologies, a data mining and defense technology company. Lonsdale left Palantir in 2009 and co-founded Addepar, a wealth management technology company. Lonsdale co-founded the venture capital firm Formation 8 in 2011, and another called 8VC in 2015.

Lonsdale has been outspoken about politics, and is an active Republican donor and fundraiser. He founded the conservative Cicero Institute think tank, and co-founded the private University of Austin.