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'{{COI}} {{short description|American businessman}} {{Infobox person | name = Joe Lonsdale |birth_name= | birth_date = | birth_place = [[Fremont, California]], U.S. | nationality = American | occupation = * Partner at 8VC * Chairman of [[Addepar]] | alma mater = [[Stanford University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]]) | known_for = | spouse = | children = | website = | footnotes = |image = }} '''Joseph Todd''' "'''Joe'''" '''Lonsdale V''' is an American entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is a founding partner at 8VC, a technology investment firm. Most recently, Lonsdale was a founding partner at Formation 8, the precursor firm to 8VC.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Alden|first1=William|title=Out of Formation|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/williamalden/out-of-formation|website=BuzzFeed}}</ref> Lonsdale also co-founded and serves as chairman of Addepar, a wealth management technology company, and OpenGov, a technology platform that helps manage data intelligence and budget processes of governments and several other companies include Affinity, Epirus and Esper. In 2004, Lonsdale co-founded [[Palantir Technologies]], a company focused on analyzing, integrating, and visualizing data especially in defense and finance. ==Early life and education== Lonsdale grew up in [[Fremont, California]], and attended [[Mission San Jose High School]]. He was a two-time scholastic state chess champion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/29-executives-who-are-exceptional-at-chess-2012-7?op=1 |title=30 Executives Who Are Excellent At Chess |agency=Business Insider Inc. |publisher=Business Insider |date=24 June 2012 |accessdate=12 October 2013}}</ref> He was raised in his mother's Jewish faith (his father is of Irish Catholic descent). Lonsdale graduated from [[Stanford University]] in 2003 with a degree in computer science. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of [[The Stanford Review]], the university’s conservative/libertarian newspaper. Lonsdale is a member of the [[Phi Kappa Psi]] fraternity. ==Career== ===Early career=== Lonsdale joined the financial arm of [[PayPal]] as an intern while a student at Stanford.<ref>{{Citation|title=PayPal Mafia|date=2019-12-31|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PayPal_Mafia&oldid=933321750|work=Wikipedia|language=en|access-date=2020-01-28}}</ref> After graduation he left to work in a variety of roles with PayPal co-founder, [[Peter Thiel]]. Lonsdale also served as an early executive from 2002-2009 at [[Clarium Capital]], a macro hedge fund founded by Thiel.<ref name="RIABiz2012June10O'MaraKelly">{{cite news|last1=O'Mara|first1=Kelly|title=Addepar means to be the only technology platform RIAs will ever need -- and has MIT minds and PayPal money to back it up|url=http://riabiz.com/a/2012/6/11/addepar-means-to-be-the-only-technology-platform-rias-will-ever-need-and-has-mit-minds-and-paypal-money-to-back-it-up|accessdate=13 February 2017|agency=RIABiz LLC|publisher=RIABiz|date=10 June 2012|location=United States|language=English}}</ref> At Clarium's peak the fund grew to $8 billion in [[assets under management]], but eventually shut down after a series of unprofitable investments and client redemptions resulting in its assets declining to between $300-400 million as of 2011.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Burton|first1=Katherine|title=Clarium's Thiel Says Bearishness on Dollar 'Wrong'|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-09-24/thiel-of-clarium-capital-says-universal-bearishness-on-dollar-is-wrong-}}</ref> ===Palantir Technologies=== In 2004, Lonsdale co-founded [[Palantir Technologies]] with Thiel, [[Alex Karp]], [[Stephen Cohen (entrepreneur)|Stephen Cohen]], and Nathan Gettings. Palantir’s software allows human analysts to explore data from many sources, specifically in the intelligence and financial services sectors.<ref>Ari Gesher(2010-03-08). "Palantir Technologies » BlogArchive » Friction in Human-Computer Symbiosis: Kasparov on Chess". Blog.palantirtech.com. Retrieved 2012-01-30.</ref> It had a corporate culture modeled in part on Google's.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gorman |first=Siobhan |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125200842406984303 |title=How Team of Geeks Cracked Spy Trade |publisher=Online.wsj.com |date=2009-09-04 |accessdate=2013-10-12}}</ref> Lonsdale initially served as co-head of product at Palantir. After the core leadership and engineering teams were established, Lonsdale and Eric Poirier built Palantir Finance (Later known as Metropolis, and then replaced by Foundry) as a separate division within Palantir. They created a technology platform analogous in scope to the government platform but focused on time series data and financial ontologies. The company was valued at $20 billion in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Buhr|first1=Sarah|title=Palantir Has Raised $880 Million At A $20 Billion Valuation|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/12/23/palantir-has-raised-880-million-at-a-20-billion-valuation/|publisher=TechCrunch|date=Dec 23, 2015}}</ref> ===Addepar=== Lonsdale co-founded [[Addepar]] in 2009 with Jason Mirra.<ref name="CloseUpMediaInc2013July20">{{cite news|title=Addepar Names CEO, President and COO|agency=Close Up Media, Inc.|issue=Manufacturing Close-Up|publisher=Close-Up Media, Inc.|date=20 July 2013|location=United States|language=English}}</ref> Lonsdale currently serves as Executive Chairman at Addepar. ===Angel investor and venture capitalist=== ====Anduin Ventures==== In 2010, Lonsdale launched Anduin Ventures, a seed fund focused on helping technology teams in Silicon Valley build information technology companies across a variety of industries. Anduin's advisors included Alex Moore, Steve Loughlin, Matt Michelsen, and Brian Koo. Anduin's portfolio companies include Addepar, Wish (Context Logic),<ref>{{cite web|title=Investments|url=http://www.anduinventures.com/investments/|website=Anduin Ventures|accessdate=10 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429045820/http://www.anduinventures.com/investments/|archive-date=29 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Any.do, a project with [[Lady Gaga]] to launch Backplane,<ref>{{cite news|title=From Hedge Funds to Lady Gaga |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/magazine/content/11_25/b4233085780856.htm|website=bloomberg.com|publisher=Business Week|accessdate=2015-02-16|date=9 June 2011}}</ref> [[Badgeville]], Blueprint Labs, Edmodo, Healthtap, JoyTunes, Karma, Onramp, Ostendo, Ness, [[Practice Fusion]] and Vicarious.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anduinventures.com/investments/ |title=Investments |publisher=Anduin Ventures |date= |accessdate=2013-10-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429045820/http://www.anduinventures.com/investments/ |archive-date=2015-04-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ====Formation 8==== In 2011, Lonsdale co-founded [[Formation 8]] with Brian Koo and Jim Kim.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/18/formation-8/ |title=Formation 8 Raises Its First Fund Of $448M To Plug Silicon Valley Startups Into Asian Conglomerates |publisher=TechCrunch |date=2013-04-18 |accessdate=2013-10-12}}</ref> Other senior members of Formation 8 included [[Gideon Yu]] and [[Pierre Lamond]]. The fund had a broad mandate, investing across stages in both IT and energy companies, with an intended emphasis on business development in Asia.<ref name="outofform" /> As of December 2015, Formation 8 recorded an 84% internal rate of return in its first fund, putting it among the top funds of its class.<ref name="outofform">{{cite web|last1=Alden|first1=William|title=Out of Formation|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/williamalden/out-of-formation}}</ref> In the fall of 2015, Formation 8 announced the partners would not be raising a third fund together. <ref>{{cite web|url= http://fortune.com/2015/11/10/what-caused-formation-8-to-split-and-what-comes-next/ |title=What Caused Formation 8 To Split, and What Comes Next? |website=fortune.com |date=2015-10-11 |accessdate=2019-04-18}}</ref> ===8VC=== In 2015,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/04/de-formation-8/ |title=Formation 8 Axes Plans For Third Fund, Lonsdale Now Raising $400M For "8 Partners" |website=TechCrunch.com |date=4 November 2015 |accessdate=26 August 2016}}</ref> Lonsdale co-founded 8VC with a group that included 15 of the 25 colleagues from Formation 8 and 8VC manages the Formation 8 Funds.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.crunchbase.com/news/8vc-aims-to-raise-640m-for-third-flagship-fund-filings-show/|title=8VC Aims To Raise $640M For Third Flagship Fund, Filings Show |website=techcrunch |accessdate=23 September 2020}}</ref> Today, Formation 8 manages $1.1 billion in committed capital and 8VC manages $2.4 billion in committed capital. 8VC's portfolio companies include Synthego, Joby Aviation, Deliverr, Common, Asana,<ref>{{cite news |title=TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/31/asana-raises-75m/ |website=techcrunch.com |date=31 January 2018 |accessdate=3 April 2018}}</ref> IDx,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/27/idx-raises-33-million-for-ai-diagnostic-systems-that-detect-eye-disease-and-other-conditions/|title=Idx raises $33 million for AI diagnostic systems that detect eye disease and other conditions |website=Venture Beat |accessdate=18 April 2019}}</ref> Orca, The Boring Company, Vector, Honor, Flexport, and Epirus.<ref name=":8vc">{{cite web|title=Companies|url=http://8VC.com/companies/|accessdate=22 Nov 2018|website=8VC.com}}</ref> In November 2020, Lonsdale said he was moving 8VC's headquarters to Austin, Texas.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Levy|first=Ari|date=2020-11-06|title=Why Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale is leaving Silicon Valley|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/06/palantir-co-founder-joe-lonsdale-leaving-silicon-valley.html|access-date=2020-11-06|website=CNBC|language=en}}</ref> ===Other business activities=== Lonsdale co-founded and serves as chairman of OpenGov.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://addepar.com/company/|title=Addepar {{!}} Powering the Global Financial System|date=2016-10-07|website=Addepar|language=en|access-date=2020-01-28}}</ref> Lonsdale also co-founded and serves on the boards of Esper, Anduin Transactions, Affinity, Epirus Systems, and Zanbato. '''The Cicero Institute''' In 2018, Lonsdale started The Cicero Institute, a public policy research think-tank to deliver entrepreneurial solutions to public problems. The Cicero Institute works on a variety of federal, state, and local domestic policy issues including housing, criminal justice, healthcare, and regulatory reform. ==Philanthropy== Joe and his wife Tayler are active in a variety of philanthropic and mission-driven pursuits. In 2018, Joe founded the Cicero Institute, which works on a variety of federal, state, and local domestic policy issues including housing, criminal justice, healthcare, and regulatory reform. The Cicero Institute is interested in policy frameworks that spur entrepreneurial innovation to solve public challenges and allow the best ideas to win.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ciceroinstitute.org/|title=The Cicero Institute|website=www.ciceroinstitute.org|access-date=2019-04-19}}</ref> Lonsdale is the Chairman of [[OneHope Wine|ONEHOPE Wine]]<ref name="www.onehopewine.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.onehopewine.com/about-us/team |title=About Us - Team &#124; ONEHOPE Wine |website=Onehopewine.com |date= |accessdate=2015-03-03}}</ref> and its charity ONEHOPE Foundation, a [[social enterprise]] company devoted to donating a portion of their profits to charity.<ref name="www.onehopefoundation.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.onehopefoundation.org/#team |title=ONEHOPE Foundation |website=Onehopefoundation.org |date= |accessdate=2015-03-03}}</ref> Lonsdale is a board member and adviser to [[Thorn (organization)|Thorn]], a non-profit founded by actors [[Ashton Kutcher]] and [[Demi Moore]] which partners with innovative technology companies to prevent child-trafficking and child pornography. Lonsdale also served on the Board of [[Strive for College]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.striveforcollege.org/about.html |title=Board of Directors |publisher=Strive for College |accessdate=2018-11-25}}</ref> and was the founding Chairman of [[The Seasteading Institute]].<ref name="youtube.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wziS7Nwi5A |title=Glenn Beck talks to Joe Lonsdale about Seasteading |publisher=YouTube |date=2008-08-27 |accessdate=2013-10-12}}</ref> He was previously the Chairman of California Common Sense (“CACS.org”), a non-partisan [[Non-profit (501C3) organisation|non-profit]] dedicated to opening government to the public, developing data-driven policy analysis, and educating citizens about how government works.<ref name="cacs.org">{{cite web|url=http://cacs.org/ca/team/supporters |title=Supporters Team |publisher=CACS |date= |accessdate=2013-10-12}}</ref> In July 2010, CACS.org launched a data transparency portal.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cacs.org/research/stanford-group-works-to-fix-government-with-data/ | title=Stanford Group Works to Fix Government with Data | publisher=Cacs.org | date=August 24, 2011 | accessdate=2014-08-14 | author=Dakin Sloss}}</ref> He is also involved with Argive, which is dedicated to regulatory transparency and accessibility for all citizens. ==Public speaking== Lonsdale often speaks at technology events, on US national TV, and at conferences around the world. A few notable appearances include: On October 28, 2020, Lonsdale joined CNBC "Squawk Box" to speak on public markets in tech<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-28|title=It's risky to be investing in tech right now, says Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale|url=https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/10/28/its-risky-to-be-investing-in-tech-right-now-says-palantir-co-founder-joe-lonsdale.html|access-date=2020-11-16|website=CNBC|language=en}}</ref>. On September 30, 2020, Lonsdale discussed Palantir's public offering and governance structure on Bloomberg TV<ref>{{Citation|title=Palantir Technologies Co-Founder on Public Offering, Governance Structure|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2020-10-01/palantir-technologies-co-founder-on-public-offering-governance-structure-video|language=en|access-date=2020-11-16}}</ref>. On September 3, 2019, Lonsdale joined CNBC to discuss direct-listings and tech company IPOs. https://archive.org/details/CNBC_20190903_150000_Squawk_Alley On May 8th, 2019, Lonsdale joined CNBC "Squawk Box" to discuss the Bay Area housing crisis and solutions to improve it. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/05/08/how-fixing-the-bay-area-housing-problem-can-raise-wages-across-the-us.html On May 17th, 2018, Lonsdale joined CNBC to discuss why startups have a better chance than incumbents to fix healthcare. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/start-ups-partnering-with-hospitals-not-tech-giants-can-fix-health.html On November 3, 2016 Lonsdale spoke at the WIRED 2016 conference in London on a few of the most innovative industries today. Lonsdale discussed transportation, government, and finance, with a special emphasis on Hyperloop and the role it will play in transforming cities into more powerful engines of growth. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/joe-lonsdale-opengov-palantir On September 14, 2016 Lonsdale spoke at the Second Annual GSV Pioneer Summit. In a fireside chat alongside Michael Moe, Lonsdale discussed emerging areas of entrepreneurship and the implications of big data. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-silicon-valleys-pioneer-summit-set-for-september-14-15-at-gsvlabs-redwood-city-campus-300293549.html On May 24, 2016 Lonsdale delivered a keynote speech at the Pioneer Festival in Vienna. Lonsdale spoke about the evolution of the technology ecosystem and lessons learned in building a billion dollar business. https://www.startitup.sk/event/pioneers-festival-2016/ On February 26, 2016, Lonsdale spoke at the Pacific Pension & Investment Institute's Winter Roundtable in Los Angeles. Lonsdale spoke about technological transformation in the context of global financial markets and the impact of these trends on investing. https://www.ppi.institute/2016-winter-roundtable-gallery On June 2, 2015 Lonsdale served on a panel about "Venture Capital Trends" at Rutberg's Future: Mobile conference, and on September 16, 2015, Lonsdale led a panel about Big Data Analytics at the BDO conference which hosts public company board members. https://www.bdo.com/events/board-of-directors-forum-event On August 23 and 24, 2014 Lonsdale hosted a hackathon with Ashton Kutcher to support Thorn. The event brought nearly 100 engineers, data scientists and designers together to build tools to help mitigate child trafficking. Other judges included Twitter's Head of Privacy Del Harvey and White House Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith. Lonsdale subsequently published an article calling on technologists to tackle social problems. https://splinternews.com/im-ashton-kutcher-and-im-here-to-help-1793850912 On February 12, 2014 Lonsdale and Marc Andreessen were featured as the Keynote for the 2014 Goldman Sachs Technology Conference in San Francisco with Gary Cohn. They discussed a variety of issues including bitcoin, valuations of technology companies, and the impact of mobile. https://beta.techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/goldman-sachs-technology-and-internet-conference-agenda-1.pdf On June 26, 2013, Lonsdale appeared on CNBC’s SquawkBox to discuss big data and security in an episode titled “Big Data’s Past Present and Future.” https://www.cnbc.com/video/2013/06/26/big-datas-past-present-and-future.html On April 29, 2013 Lonsdale appeared in an episode titled “The Disruptors” on which he discussed how Silicon Valley technology is beginning to emerge as a force on Wall Street. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1waaQLI4EfM In 2011, Lonsdale participated in TEDxSilicon Valley. Lonsdale gave a speech titled "Learning from Numbers" where he discussed technology's role within finance. https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDxTalks/search?query=Joe+Lonsdale On August 25, 2008 Lonsdale was hosted by Glenn Beck on CNN, where he discussed the Seasteading Institute. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wziS7Nwi5A ==Controversies== On January 27, 2015, former Stanford University student Ellie Clougherty filed a lawsuit against Lonsdale accusing him of rape and sexual and emotional abuse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27493578/tech-investor-joe-lonsdale-counters-rape-allegations/ |title=Tech investor Joe Lonsdale counters rape allegations |publisher=Mercury News |date= |accessdate=2016-08-26}}</ref> Lonsdale denied the claims and filed a counter suit against Clougherty.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://joelonsdalestatement.com | title = Joe Lonsdale Personal Statement | date = 2015-01-28 | accessdate = 2015-10-15 }}</ref> Stanford University banned Lonsdale from campus as a result of the allegation.<ref name=reuters_dropped>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/woman-drops-sex-assault-case-against-u-venture-004459511--sector.html |title=Woman drops sex assault case against U.S. venture capitalist |website=News.yahoo.com |date=2015-11-03 |accessdate=2016-08-26}}</ref> Clougherty dropped all of her legal claims against Lonsdale in a court filing on November 2, 2015. Lonsdale also dropped his counterclaims.<ref>{{cite web|last=Levine |first=Dan |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/02/us-privateequity-lonsdale-lawsuit-idUSKCN0SR23Q20151102 |title=Woman drops sex assault case against U.S. venture capitalist |publisher=[[Reuters]] |date=2015-11-02 |accessdate=2016-08-26}}</ref> Stanford University investigators, citing evidence uncovered during discovery, said Lonsdale did not violate Stanford's sexual harassment policies and there was no basis to support a ban from Stanford's campus.<ref name="reuters_dropped" /> == Family == In September 2016, Lonsdale married Tayler Cox.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.today.com/health/breast-cancer-mutation-forces-women-make-hard-choices-t103717|title=At high risk for breast cancer, why she's decided against a mastectomy|first=Susan Donaldson|last=James|publisher=[[Today.com]]|accessdate=14 October 2016}}</ref> In early 2020, Lonsdale relocated his family from the [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]] to Austin, Texas.<ref name=":0" /> ==References== {{Reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Lonsdale, Joe}} [[Category:1982 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Jewish American philanthropists]] [[Category:Stanford University alumni]] [[Category:People from Fremont, California]] [[Category:Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area]] [[Category:Private equity and venture capital investors]] [[Category:American venture capitalists]]'