1517 Fund
1517 Fund is a San Diego-based venture capital firm founded in 2015 that provides pre-seed and seed funding ($50K–$1M checks, ~$400K average) to college dropouts, students, and deep tech scientists, operating alongside a 6,000+ member community and the Medici micro-grant program.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What 1517 Fund does
1517 Fund is a private venture capital firm founded in 2015 by Danielle Strachman and Michael Gibson — the same team that co-founded the Thiel Fellowship with Peter Thiel in 2010. The firm invests at the pre-seed and seed stages exclusively in non-traditional founders: college dropouts, current high school and university students, and deep tech scientists. Standard check sizes range from $50,000 at the idea or R&D stage to $1,000,000 for deep tech / 'sci-fi' seed rounds, with an average pre-seed check of approximately $400,000. Capital is deployed across four flagship funds and 15+ special purpose vehicles (SPVs) used for follow-on into top-performing portfolio companies, with total committed capital exceeding $175 million.
The firm operates a community-led go-to-market model rather than a traditional deal-sourcing funnel. Its 6,000+-member community is cultivated through the Medici Program (200+ $1,000 micro-grants deployed annually for idea validation), the Founders First and Subversion podcasts, the 1517 Library, annual 1517 Summits, and on-campus and mentor-network engagement that begins years before founders are ready to raise. Notable portfolio outcomes attributed to the fund or its founders include Ethereum (Vitalik Buterin), Figma, OYO Rooms (Ritesh Agarwal), Luminar, Lambda Labs, Loom, nTop, Cents, Fossa, Atom Computing, and Xona, with a stated portfolio market capitalization exceeding $10 billion. Revenue mechanics follow standard venture capital economics: management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on exits, with returns driven by the typical power-law distribution across the portfolio.
1517 Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 1517 Fund
- Legal name
- 1517 Fund
- Website
- https://1517fund.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- 1517 Fund is a San Diego-based venture capital firm founded in 2015 that provides pre-seed and seed funding ($50K–$1M checks, ~$400K average) to college dropouts, students, and deep tech scientists, operating alongside a 6,000+ member community and the Medici micro-grant program.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
1517 Fund industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)
- SIC
- Investors, Nec (6799)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)
Keywords
Where 1517 Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
1517 Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Investment Returns: 1517 Fund generates returns through equity investments in early-stage startups. Returns come from portfolio company exits via acquisitions or IPOs, following standard venture capital economics with power law distribution where a small number of investments generate outsized returns.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Idea/R&D Stage Investment |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Pre-Seed Lead Investment |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Deep Tech/Sci-Fi Seed Stage |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | Medici Grants |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
1517 Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
1517 Fund is a venture capital firm that provides pre-seed and seed equity investments to early-stage technology startups, with check sizes ranging from $50,000 at the idea/R&D stage up to $1,000,000 for deep tech and "sci-fi" seed-stage companies (average check size of $400,000). The firm supplements this capital deployment with a Medici Program offering minimum $1,000 micro-grants for early idea validation, a community of 6,000+ founders and hackers, and ongoing portfolio support through 15+ SPVs for follow-on investments.
Product overview
1517 Fund operates as a venture capital firm and community platform rather than a traditional SaaS or product company. The core offering consists of venture capital investments at the earliest stages (pre-seed to seed), ranging from $50,000 to $1,000,000, with an average check size of $400,000. Supporting this are the Medici Program for micro-grants ($1k minimum), the Founders First and Subversion podcasts for founder interviews, the 1517 Summit for community events, and the 1517 Library for curated resources. The fund also maintains a community of 6,000+ members, has deployed 200+ $1k grants annually, manages $175mm+ in committed capital, and supports portfolio companies through 15+ SPVs for follow-on investments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Medici Program: Micro-grant program offering minimum $1k grants to help founders validate ideas at the earliest stages.
- Founders First Podcast
- Subversion Podcast
Products and services
- Venture Capital Investment Pre-seed to seed equity investment in early-stage technology startups, with check sizes from $50,000 at the idea/R&D stage up to $1,000,000 for deep tech/sci-fi seed-stage companies (average $400,000 pre-seed check). For uncredentialed founders, students, and deep tech scientists.
- Medici Program Micro-grant program providing minimum $1,000 cash grants to help founders, hackers, and makers validate early-stage ideas at the R&D/idea phase before they are ready for full venture funding.
- Founders First Podcast Seasonal podcast featuring interviews with 1517 Fund portfolio company founders discussing their first projects, companies, raises, hires, fires, and other early milestones.
- Subversion Podcast Podcast featuring interviews with hackers, makers, scientists, investors, and thinkers who are subverting the status quo, released as new content is developed.
- 1517 Summit Annual multi-day summit bringing together the 1517 community of founders, hackers, makers, and renegade scientists for networking, keynotes, breakout sessions, and workshops (e.g., 2022 'Escape from Captivity' in San Diego, attendance capped at 400).
- 1517 Library Curated online library of recommended resources including business book lists, philosophical essays, and reading materials for founders, hackers, makers, and scientists.
Quantifiable outcome
- Portfolio companies achieved $10bn+ market cap including Ethereum, Figma, OYO Rooms, Luminar
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use 1517 Fund
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
1517 Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
1517 Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Thiel Fellowshipcore1517 Fund was co-founded by the same team that co-founded the Thiel Fellowship with Peter Thiel in 2010. The Thiel Fellowship is a $100k grant program for young entrepreneurs. 1517 was started in 2015 to scale and expand the vision of the Fellowship.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
1517 Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Village Global: Early-stage venture firm backed by a network of high-profile operators, writing seed checks into technical founders. Comparable in network-driven sourcing and early-stage check sizing.
- Contrary: Early-stage venture firm explicitly built to back unconventional, 'rebellious' student and young founders. Closest philosophical match to 1517's dropout and anti-credentialism thesis.
- Dorm Room Fund: Student-run pre-seed fund backing founders still in university. Directly overlaps with 1517's 'renegade student' persona and pre-seed check size profile.
- Precursor Ventures: Pre-seed and seed venture firm writing initial checks into founders before product-market fit. Closely comparable in stage, check size discipline, and founder-first orientation.
- The House Fund: Pre-seed and seed fund affiliated with UC Berkeley backing founders at the earliest stages. Comparable in targeting student and first-time founders with small initial checks.
- Long Journey Ventures: Early-stage fund backing unconventional founders at the pre-seed and seed stages. Shares 1517's small-check, founder-thesis-led orientation.
Broad incumbents
- Founders Fund: Peter Thiel–led multi-stage venture firm with thematic early-stage bets in deep tech and contrarian founders. Overlaps with 1517 via Thiel ecosystem and similar willingness to back non-traditional technical teams.
- Slow Ventures: Multi-stage fund with deep roots in early thematic and 'founder-first' seed investing, including deep tech. Comparable in stage breadth and contrarian founder support.
- Khosla Ventures: Large early-stage firm with a significant deep tech / sci-fi tech mandate (energy, biotech, quantum, materials). Overlaps with 1517 on the deep tech scientist persona, though at materially larger fund sizes.
- SV Angel: Seed-stage focused angel firm making early bets on consumer and enterprise founders. Comparable in stage discipline and orientation toward first-check conviction investing.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
1517 Fund social profiles
Digital presence1517 Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
1517 Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
1517 Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
1517 Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments139 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 1517 Fund
What does 1517 Fund do?
1517 Fund is a venture capital firm that provides pre-seed and seed equity investments to early-stage technology startups, with check sizes ranging from $50,000 at the idea/R&D stage up to $1,000,000 for deep tech and "sci-fi" seed-stage companies (average check size of $400,000). The firm supplements this capital deployment with a Medici Program offering minimum $1,000 micro-grants for early idea validation, a community of 6,000+ founders and hackers, and ongoing portfolio support through 15+ SPVs for follow-on investments.
Is 1517 Fund a public or private company?
1517 Fund is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was 1517 Fund founded?
1517 Fund was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is 1517 Fund based?
1517 Fund is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does 1517 Fund make money?
One revenue line is on record: investment Returns.
Who are 1517 Fund's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Village Global, Contrary, Dorm Room Fund, Precursor Ventures, The House Fund and Long Journey Ventures. Broad incumbents are Founders Fund, Slow Ventures, Khosla Ventures and SV Angel.
Does 1517 Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for 1517 Fund.
What industry is 1517 Fund in?
1517 Fund's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B), with a secondary code of FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists). Its NAICS code is 5259 and its SIC code is 6799.