Thiel Fellowship
The Thiel Fellowship is a non-profit program founded by Peter Thiel in 2011 that provides two-year $250,000 grants to young people who skip or leave college to build new ventures, supported by the Thiel Foundation's network of founders, investors, and scientists.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Thiel Fellowship does
The Thiel Fellowship is a two-year fellowship program operated by the Thiel Foundation, founded by technology entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel in 2011. It provides $250,000 grants to young people who choose to skip or stop out of college in order to build new ventures. The program targets young entrepreneurs who reject traditional educational paths in favor of hands-on venture creation, and addresses pain points including college debt, mandatory testing structures, and limited access to capital and professional networks at an early age.
The fellowship's core offering is a unified grant and mentorship program: $250,000 disbursed over two years, paired with access to the Thiel Foundation's network of founders, investors, and scientists based in Silicon Valley and beyond. There are no additional products, modules, or add-on service lines. The value proposition centers on capital, mentorship, workshops, and introductions to investors, partners, and prospective customers, along with entry into an alumni community that functions as a substitute for a traditional alma mater. Distribution is direct: applicants apply through thielfellowship.org, and selection is competitive.
The business model is philanthropic rather than commercial. The Thiel Fellowship is privately funded by the Thiel Foundation, a non-profit, and does not generate revenue, charge fees, or operate a conventional go-to-market motion. It has 11-50 employees, is headquartered in San Francisco, and recruits globally without geographic restrictions. The organization does not have external investors, a cap table, or traditional shareholders, and no funding rounds, subsidiaries, or M&A activity have been disclosed. Leadership consists of Founder Peter Thiel, President Blake Masters, and Executive Director Jack Abraham.
Thiel Fellowship firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Thiel Fellowship
- Legal name
- Thiel Fellowship (operated by The Thiel Foundation)
- Website
- https://thielfellowship.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Thiel Fellowship is a non-profit program founded by Peter Thiel in 2011 that provides two-year $250,000 grants to young people who skip or leave college to build new ventures, supported by the Thiel Foundation's network of founders, investors, and scientists.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Thiel Fellowship industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fellowship and Grant Program
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)
Keywords
Where Thiel Fellowship is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Thiel Fellowship business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Grants paid to fellows ($250, 000 per fellow over two years), Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Thiel Fellowship product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Thiel Fellowship is a two-year program that provides a $250,000 grant to young people who choose to skip or stop out of college in order to build new things. In addition to the grant, fellows receive mentorship, workshops, and introductions to investors, partners, and prospective customers drawn from the Thiel Foundation's network of founders, investors, and scientists in Silicon Valley and beyond, along with access to an alumni network.
Product overview
The Thiel Fellowship is a single, unified fellowship program offering a two-year grant of $250,000 to young entrepreneurs who skip or stop out of college to build new ventures. The program provides recipients with financial support, mentorship from the Thiel Foundation's network of founders, investors, and scientists, and access to an alumni network without a formal alma mater. There are no additional products, modules, or add-on offerings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Thiel Fellowship A two-year fellowship program founded by Peter Thiel in 2011 that provides $250,000 grants to young people who want to build new things instead of attending college. Fellows receive support from the Thiel Foundation's network of founders, investors, and scientists, along with mentorship, workshops, introductions to investors, partners, and prospective customers, and access to an alumni network.
Companies that use Thiel Fellowship
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Thiel Fellowship technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Thiel Fellowship partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Thiel Fellowship competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Fulbright Program: The Fulbright Program is one of the most widely recognized international fellowship programs, providing funding and network access to a global cohort of scholars. It is structurally analogous to the Thiel Fellowship as a multi-year, selective fellowship distributing grants to high-potential individuals with a powerful alumni network.
- Echoing Green: Echoing Green provides two-year fellowships and seed funding to emerging social entrepreneurs, along with a leadership network. It is comparable to the Thiel Fellowship in offering multi-year stipends, mentorship, and alumni support to a small, selective cohort of high-mission founders.
- 1517 Fund: 1517 Fund (named after the year of the Protestant Reformation, signaling anti-establishment positioning) is a venture fund explicitly built to support young founders who skip or leave college, sharing the Thiel Fellowship's underlying thesis. It is closely comparable in target demographic and mission, making it a near-direct thematic peer.
- Knight-Hennessy Scholars: Knight-Hennessy Scholars is Stanford's flagship multidisciplinary graduate fellowship, offering full funding and a leadership-development program to a small, highly selective cohort. Like the Thiel Fellowship, it is a small-cohort, high-prestige, well-funded program tied to a Silicon-Valley institution, with comparable brand-driven selection dynamics.
- Rhodes Scholarship: The Rhodes Trust administers one of the world's most prestigious postgraduate scholarship/fellowship programs, providing full funding and access to an elite global network. It is structurally analogous to the Thiel Fellowship as a high-prestige, selective fellowship program offering a multi-year stipend and lifetime alumni network, though it funds Oxford study rather than venture-building.
Emerging players
- Venture For America: Venture For America is a fellowship program that places recent graduates in startup roles in emerging U.S. cities, providing training, mentorship, and a network of entrepreneurs. It overlaps with the Thiel Fellowship in offering a multi-year alternative-pathway program for ambitious young builders, though it is more workforce-oriented than venture-building.
- Dorm Room Fund: Dorm Room Fund is a student-run venture fund backed by First Round Capital that invests in companies founded by student entrepreneurs. It targets a similar demographic of young founders and provides early-stage capital plus investor-network access, making it an emerging peer with overlapping mission.
- Contrary Capital: Contrary Capital is a venture fund that invests in student-led startups through a network of university-based partners. Like the Thiel Fellowship, it targets young founders building early-stage companies, but delivers capital rather than stipends and operates at greater scale with a less concentrated brand.
Broad incumbents
- Breakout Labs: Breakout Labs is a Thiel Foundation program that funds early-stage science and technology founders outside traditional academic and venture channels. It is a direct thematic sibling to the Thiel Fellowship — same parent foundation, same anti-establishment, high-risk appetite, same support model of non-dilutive funding plus network access.
- Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the dominant startup accelerator offering $500K+ in funding, mentorship, and a dense founder/investor network. It is comparable to the Thiel Fellowship as a Silicon-Valley-based program that provides capital and network access to early-stage founders, though YC serves founders of all ages and stages rather than specifically targeting college dropouts.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Thiel Fellowship social profiles
Digital presenceThiel Fellowship financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Thiel Fellowship leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Thiel Fellowship funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Thiel Fellowship M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Thiel Fellowship
What does Thiel Fellowship do?
The Thiel Fellowship is a two-year program that provides a $250,000 grant to young people who choose to skip or stop out of college in order to build new things. In addition to the grant, fellows receive mentorship, workshops, and introductions to investors, partners, and prospective customers drawn from the Thiel Foundation's network of founders, investors, and scientists in Silicon Valley and beyond, along with access to an alumni network.
Is Thiel Fellowship a public or private company?
Thiel Fellowship is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Thiel Fellowship founded?
Thiel Fellowship was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Thiel Fellowship based?
Thiel Fellowship is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Thiel Fellowship's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Fulbright Program, Echoing Green, 1517 Fund, Knight-Hennessy Scholars and Rhodes Scholarship. Emerging players are Venture For America, Dorm Room Fund and Contrary Capital. Broad incumbents are Breakout Labs and Y Combinator.
Does Thiel Fellowship have an API?
No public API is recorded for Thiel Fellowship.
What industry is Thiel Fellowship in?
Thiel Fellowship's product category is Fellowship and Grant Program. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAK, Education Grantmaking Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211.