Joe Lonsdale co-founded Palantir (now worth ~$400B) and went on to found venture firm 8VC, the University of Austin, OpenGov, Addepar, and several other companies. In this wide-ranging conversation, Lonsdale traces his life story from deep family roots and early childhood to the present day. He shares the formative experiences that shaped his thinking, his years at Stanford, and the lessons learned from macro investing with Peter Thiel, especially digging into U.S. and Japanese bond markets. We explore chess, philosophy, and warfare; the courage to invent and build talent clusters; the founding stories behind Palantir and Formation 8 (now 8VC); and the vision behind the University of Austin. A rare look at one of Silicon Valley’s most prolific founders & investors, and one of my favorite conversations we’ve recorded so far. Enjoy!
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