1517 Fund

WHO WE ARE

1517 supports teams with grant, pre-seed, and seed funding for technology startups. Our focus is on makers, hackers, and scientists interested in working outside tracked institutions because we believe that the path geared towards higher education is not for all. We motivate people to work on what they are passionate about, to learn by doing, and to create new technologies.

$20,000,000

TARGET SIZE OF FUNDS

Sector

Fintech, Healthcare, Blockchain, Tech-Agnostic, AI/ML

Stage

Seed, Pre-Seed

Region

North America

Countries

US

Founder(s)

Danielle Strachmann

Danielle Strachman (General Partner) – Danielle is a cofounder and general partner of 1517. She has worked with young entrepreneurs for about a decade. In 2010, during the founding of the Thiel Fellowship, Danielle joined to lead the design and operations. She’s worked with some of the most prestigious founders like Vitalik Buterin and Ritesh Agarwal. Previous to her work with Peter Thiel, Danielle founded and directed Innovations Academy in San Diego, a K-8 charter school serving 400 students, with a focus on student-led project based learning and other alternative programs. Michael Gibson (General Partner) – Michael was vice president for grants at the Thiel Foundation and a principal at Thiel Capital. For nearly five years working for Peter Thiel, he has contributed research to PeterÕs global macro hedge fund, assisted in teaching a course at Stanford Law School on sovereignty and technological change, and helped run the Thiel Fellowship. He serves on the board of the Seasteading Institute. Before his academic apostasy, he was working towards a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Oxford. He has written on innovation and technology for MITÕs Technology Review, the Atlantic, and Forbes.

Michael Gibson