Reuters: Private Equity: UPDATE 1-Thiel starts Mithril Capital with $402 mln fund

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UPDATE 1-Thiel starts Mithril Capital with $402 mln fund Jun 20th 2012, 23:26 Wed Jun 20, 2012 7:26pm EDT June 20 (Reuters) - Investor and Pay Pal co-founder Peter Thiel, in starting Mithril Capital Management, is setting his sights on another investment strategy: growth venture-capital. The $402 million fund will focus on later-stage technology-oriented companies that tap large markets, such as energy or disease, according to a spokesman and a statement from the firm. Traditional venture capital backs companies at early stages. Ajay Royan, who was formerly managing director at Thiel's Clarium Capital hedge fund, will lead the Mithril team. Partners include Royan and Jim O'Neill, the co-founder of the 20 under 20 Thiel Fellowships for promising young entrepreneurs. While Mithril is a separate entity, its seven person-investment team will look among the network of Thiel-related companies and people for investment ideas, Royan said. That might include entrepreneurs whose research Thiel has sponsored in the past, or employees leaving companies he has backed. Investments will range from $20 million to $100 million, Royan said, and could go to companies anywhere in the world. Thiel's early-stage investment company, Founders Fund, started in 2005. In J.R. Tolkien's books, including "Lord of the Rings," mithril is a strong, lightweight metal mined by dwarfs. "It has a protective, sustaining quality and a transforming quality, which is what we want as a venture fund," Royan said. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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