Early Life and Education
Joe Lonsdale was born in Fremont, California, on September 12, 1982. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, exposed to the region's technological culture. He attended Stanford University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science in 2003. During his time at Stanford, Lonsdale served as editor-in-chief of The Stanford Review, a student-run newspaper. Peter Thiel, who later became his mentor, co-founded the newspaper.
Rise to Success
Lonsdale's career began with an internship at PayPal. He then worked as an early executive at Clarium Capital, a hedge fund run by Peter Thiel. In 2004, Lonsdale co-founded Palantir Technologies with Thiel, Alex Karp, Stephen Cohen, and Nathan Gettings. Palantir is a data mining and defense technology company. He left Palantir in 2009 and co-founded Addepar, a wealth management technology company. In 2011, Lonsdale co-founded the venture capital firm Formation 8. In 2015, he co-founded 8VC, an early-stage venture capital firm.
Key Business Strategies
Lonsdale's success is attributed to a two-pronged strategy: building impactful companies and strategic venture investments. He has co-founded and invested in several successful tech companies, including Palantir Technologies, Addepar, OpenGov, and 8VC. As managing partner at 8VC, he has made big bets on startups in defense tech and life sciences. Lonsdale focuses on identifying industries ripe for technological disruption and assembling teams to execute ambitious visions.
Philanthropy
Joe Lonsdale is also involved in philanthropy and policy. In 2018, he and his wife founded the Cicero Institute, a non-partisan organization. In 2021, Lonsdale became the founding chairman of the board of the University of Austin (UATX).