Michael Gibson

Co-Founder & General Partner at 1517 Fund

Reviewed Updated Mar 28, 2026

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Co-founder and General Partner of 1517 Fund alongside Danielle Strachman. Former Principal at Thiel Capital and Thiel Fellowship co-founder. Invests in pre-seed/seed stage deep-tech founders without traditional credentials—dropouts, scientists leaving academia, Thiel Fellows. Portfolio includes Luminar (IPO at $3.4B), Lambda (unicorn), Loom (acquired for ~$1B), Figma (IPO at $20B+). Fund I delivered 4.4x DPI with 38.9% IRR.

Location Telluride, CO
Check Size $50K-$1M
Last Verified Investment Lambda (Series E) — Nov 2025
Social @William_Blake LinkedIn
Stage Focus
pre-seed seed
Sector Focus
deep-tech AI hardware climate-tech enterprise consumer

Background

Michael Patrick Gibson is the Co-Founder and General Partner of 1517 Fund, a venture capital firm he co-founded with Danielle Strachman in June 2015 12. The fund is based in Telluride, Colorado 3.

Before launching 1517, Gibson served as Vice President for Grants at the Thiel Foundation and as a Principal at Thiel Capital for nearly five years, where he contributed research to Peter Thiel’s macro hedge fund 45. He co-founded and co-ran the Thiel Fellowship alongside Strachman starting on September 27, 2010 6. Gibson has stated: “We started the fellowship on my first day of work with Peter, on September 27, 2010” 6.

Gibson was previously a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Oxford, though he did not complete the degree 45. He also studied at the University of Chicago and New York University 3. He taught at Stanford Law School on topics of sovereignty and technological change 5. He has served on the board of the Seasteading Institute 5.

Gibson is the author of Paper Belt on Fire: How Renegade Investors Sparked a Revolt Against the University (Encounter Books, 2022), which chronicles his and Strachman’s journey from the Thiel Fellowship to founding 1517 78. He has contributed articles on science and technology to MIT Technology Review, The Atlantic, and Forbes 45.

Stated Thesis

(Self-reported: These represent what Gibson says publicly about his investing approach. See Inferred Thesis for analysis of actual investment behavior.)

Gibson describes 1517 Fund as “technically a venture capital fund, but we like to think of ourselves as an anti-establishment educational institution. We make investments and give micro-grants in order to advance the edges of knowledge and science” 9.

The fund’s core premise is anti-credentialism. Gibson has said: “We hope that by backing people without credentials we’re showing that there is not one path to success in America. You don’t need a college diploma to have a fulfilling and rewarding career” 9.

On naming the fund, Gibson explained: “I thought about how bad diplomas were becoming as a signal of skills or knowledge… That low-quality signal being sold by a powerful, preachy institution reminded me of the role of indulgences in the Catholic Church during the 16th century. 1517 is the year Martin Luther wrote his ninety-five theses against the sale of these pieces of paper” 9.

On identifying founders, Gibson has stated that the best founders “tend to be both insiders and outsiders at the same time. A bit of a paradox” 6. He looks for founders where vision is “matched by dedication and execution” and who “love probing that line between chaos and order, the known and the unknown” 6.

Gibson views higher education as a threat to innovation: “Higher education is the main one, and I’m really concerned that it is stifling creativity” 9.

Inferred Thesis

The analysis below is based on 34 verified investments from 1517 Fund I and additional investments across Funds II-IV, totaling approximately 110 investments across four flagship funds 10. Because Gibson and Strachman co-manage the fund as equal co-GPs, individual attribution of specific deals is not possible from public sources; the analysis reflects the fund’s overall portfolio.

Stage distribution:

1517 invests almost exclusively at pre-seed and seed, with initial checks ranging from $50,000 at the idea/R&D stage to $1,000,000 for deep tech seed 1. The average pre-seed check is $400,000, with a sweet spot around $250,000 111. The fund targets companies with less than $1.5M in prior fundraising and seeks 7-10% ownership 10. Follow-on investments are made through 15+ SPVs 1.

Sector breakdown (based on notable portfolio companies across all funds):

The fund is nominally sector-agnostic but founder-focused. However, the portfolio reveals clear sector concentrations:

  • Deep tech / hardware: Luminar (lidar), Atom Computing (quantum computing), Positron AI, Xona Space Systems (precision GPS), Kura (AR glasses), Mach Industries (defense) 11012
  • AI / machine learning: Lambda (GPU cloud/AI infrastructure), Deepgram (speech recognition AI), Positron AI 110
  • Enterprise SaaS / B2B: Loom (async video), nTopology (engineering design), FOSSA (open-source compliance), Fountain (hiring platform), Cents (laundromat SaaS) 112
  • Climate / energy: CalWave Power (wave energy), Zeno Power Systems (nuclear batteries), Rainmaker (cloud seeding drones) 1013
  • Consumer: Presso (garment cleaning) 1
  • Biotech / life sciences: Trilobio (modular biology robots) 10

Founder profile patterns:

The defining characteristic is backing founders without traditional credentials — specifically those without undergraduate degrees, dropouts, and renegade scientists leaving academia 19. Many portfolio founders are Thiel Fellowship alumni, including Austin Russell (Luminar, 2013 Fellow), Thomas Sohmers (Positron AI, 2013 Fellow), and Augustus Doricko (Rainmaker, 2024 Fellow) 1012. The fund has expanded beyond its original dropout focus to include “renegade scientists” abandoning traditional academic career tracks 10.

Geographic patterns:

While headquartered in Telluride, Colorado, the fund invests across the United States, with concentrations in the San Francisco Bay Area and other tech hubs 511.

Notable gaps between stated and inferred thesis:

The stated thesis emphasizes anti-credentialism and backing dropouts, but the portfolio includes several founders with significant technical backgrounds and academic pedigrees (e.g., scientists with PhDs who leave academia). The “dropout” framing is a marketing simplification of a more nuanced approach that values unconventional paths broadly, including leaving established institutions at any career stage 10.

Fund performance (Fund I):

Fund I has returned 4.41x DPI (distributed-to-paid-in) and 9.65x TVPI (total value to paid-in) with a 38.86% IRR, outperforming Cambridge Associates’ top 5% benchmark of 34.99% 10.

Portfolio

Company Year Stage Source
Luminar Technologies 2015 Seed 12
Loom ~2016 Pre-Seed 11
Deepgram 2016 (pre-Sept) Pre-Seed / early check (1517 “first check” per Strachman; formal $1.8M seed 2016-09-27 led by Metamorphic + YC — 1517 not publicly named) 141920
FOSSA ~2017 Seed 12
nTopology 2017-12-01 Series A ($7.6M; Data Collective + Root Ventures co-led; 1517 among 4 co-participants) 122122
Union Crate ~2017 Seed 15
Lambda ~2017 Seed 10
Atom Computing 2018-08 Seed (~$5M; Venrock led; 1517 confirmed via own portfolio page) 11023
Fountain ~2018 Seed 110
Cents 2021-02-15 Seed (USD 4.25M; Bessemer Venture Partners led; Newfund Capital + Riverpark Ventures + 1517 Fund + Jason Finger participated; 1517 blog announced check 2020-09-24 ahead of formal round) 1152425
Xona Space Systems 2020-05-14 Pre-Seed (1517 led, $1M) 131718
Zeno Power Systems ~2020 Seed 16
Presso 2020-12-16 Pre-Seed (USD 1.6M; Pathbreaker Ventures + AME Cloud Ventures + SOSV + 1517 Fund + YETI Capital participated; no single lead named) 12627
Mach Industries 2023-06-16 Seed (USD 5.7M; Sequoia Capital led — first-ever Sequoia defense-tech investment; Marque VC + Champion Hill Ventures per PR Newswire; 1517 Fund named in TechCrunch’s October 2023 Series A retrospective) 10293031
Positron AI ~2023 Seed 10
Rainmaker ~2023 Pre-Seed 10
Kura ~2023 Seed 10
CalWave Power ~2023 Seed 10
Trilobio ~2022–2024 (pre-seed date undisclosed) Pre-Seed (USD 3M; Argon Ventures + Lowercarbon Capital named as pre-seed leads; 1517 Fund confirmed in cumulative “over USD 11M raised” investor summary in the 2025-05-05 seed announcement but not named in pre-seed primary press) 1028

This table represents approximately 19 of ~110 total investments across four flagship funds. Many early-stage investments are not publicly disclosed. Years marked with ~ are approximate based on company founding dates or fund vintage.

In Their Own Words

“We started the fellowship on my first day of work with Peter, on September 27, 2010.” — Michael Gibson, Raging Capital Ventures interview 6

“We’re technically a venture capital fund, but we like to think of ourselves as an anti-establishment educational institution. We make investments and give micro-grants in order to advance the edges of knowledge and science.” — Michael Gibson, Authority Magazine interview 9

“I thought about how bad diplomas were becoming as a signal of skills or knowledge… That low-quality signal being sold by a powerful, preachy institution reminded me of the role of indulgences in the Catholic Church during the 16th century. 1517 is the year Martin Luther wrote his ninety-five theses against the sale of these pieces of paper.” — Michael Gibson, Authority Magazine interview 9

“We hope that by backing people without credentials we’re showing that there is not one path to success in America. You don’t need a college diploma to have a fulfilling and rewarding career.” — Michael Gibson, Authority Magazine interview 9

“They tend to be both insiders and outsiders at the same time. A bit of a paradox.” — Michael Gibson, on the best founders, Raging Capital Ventures interview 6

“We don’t believe in modern indulgences.” — Michael Gibson, Raging Capital Ventures interview 6

What Founders Say

Loom’s founders have stated: “Danielle and Michael were our biggest early believers. They met with us weekly, gave us feedback, and wired us money before the deal docs were done as our pre-seed lead so that we wouldn’t run out of money 48hrs later. Can’t honestly say Loom would be a company if it hadn’t been for their belief.” — Loom founders, testimonial on 1517 Fund website 1

A portfolio founder stated: “Danielle, Michael, Zak and the whole team are genuinely invested in our success and have been there to support us through the good and the challenging times.” — Portfolio founder, 1517 Fund website 1

A female founder of color in the portfolio stated: “We are proud to make up the less than 1% of women of color who have raised venture capital. 1517 Fund has empowered our team, and we are so fortunate to get to work with the most incredible investors!” — Portfolio founder, 1517 Fund website 1

Note: The above founder testimonials are sourced from the 1517 Fund website and may reflect selection bias. No independently sourced founder testimonials from third-party publications were found during research.

Connections

  • Co-founded Thiel Fellowship (2010-2015) — alongside Danielle Strachman, under Peter Thiel 46
  • Principal, Thiel Capital — contributed research to Peter Thiel’s macro hedge fund 56
  • Board member, Seasteading Institute 5
  • Author, Paper Belt on Fire (Encounter Books, 2022) 78
  • Taught at Stanford Law School — course on sovereignty and technological change 5

Sources

  1. 1517 Fund website, “Home,” accessed March 2026. https://www.1517fund.com/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. The Org, “Michael Patrick Gibson - Founder and General Partner at 1517 Fund,” accessed March 2026. https://theorg.com/org/1517-fund/org-chart/michael-patrick-gibson↩

  3. LinkedIn profile, “Michael Patrick Gibson,” accessed March 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-patrick-gibson-56b6973/↩↩

  4. Aevitas Creative Management, “Michael Gibson,” accessed March 2026. https://www.aevitascreative.com/client/michael-gibson↩↩↩↩

  5. Beyond The Billion, “1517 Fund,” accessed March 2026. https://beyondthebillion.com/our-partners/1517-fund/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  6. Raging Capital Ventures, “An Entrepreneur’s Perspective: Reinventing Early-Stage Venture Investing,” accessed March 2026. https://ragingcapitalventures.com/an-entrepreneurs-perspective-interview-with-michael-gibson/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  7. Amazon, “Paper Belt on Fire: How Renegade Investors Sparked a Revolt Against the University,” accessed March 2026. https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Belt-Fire-Fight-Progress/dp/164177245X↩↩

  8. Encounter Books, “Michael Gibson,” accessed March 2026. https://www.encounterbooks.com/authors/michael-gibson/↩↩

  9. Authority Magazine (Medium), “Meet The Disruptors: Michael Gibson Of 1517 Fund On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry,” accessed March 2026. https://medium.com/authority-magazine/meet-the-disruptors-michael-gibson-of-1517-fund-on-the-five-things-you-need-to-shake-up-your-7723d450dc↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  10. The Odin Times, “Protestant Capital” by Dan Gray, accessed March 2026. https://blog.joinodin.com/p/the-reformation-will-be-funded↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  11. VCSheet, “Michael Gibson (1517 Fund),” accessed March 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/who/michael-gibson↩↩

  12. 1517 Fund blog, “Luminar Goes Public,” accessed March 2026. https://www.1517fund.com/post/luminar-goes-public↩↩↩↩↩↩

  13. 1517 Fund (Medium), “Announcing 1517 Fund Investment: Xona Space Systems,” accessed March 2026. https://medium.com/1517/announcing-1517-fund-investment-xona-space-systems-6db64b936f6a↩↩

  14. Crunchbase, “1517 Fund - Recent News & Activity,” accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/1517-fund/investor_summary/overview_timeline↩

  15. Tracxn, “1517 Fund - 2026 Investor Profile,” accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/1517fund/__CKPfllqEzPxDJ5aaCqdazyB6Y-1gAptms9yZ_5SgT0Q↩↩

  16. 1517 Fund (Medium), “Announcing 1517 Fund Investment: Zeno Power Systems,” accessed March 2026. https://medium.com/1517/zeno-clean-resilient-cost-effective-power-7fac12233a↩

  17. TechCrunch, “Xona Space Systems raises $1 million to improve satellite-based navigation services,” May 14, 2020, accessed July 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/14/xona-space-systems-raises-1-million-to-improve-satellite-based-navigation-services/↩

  18. Via Satellite / SatelliteToday, “PNT Startup Xona Space Systems Raises $1M in Pre-Seed,” May 15, 2020, accessed July 2026. https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2020/05/15/pnt-startup-xona-space-systems-raises-1m-in-pre-seed/↩

  19. TechCrunch, “Launching a ‘Google for sound’, Deepgram raises $1.8 million,” September 27, 2016, accessed July 2026 (Metamorphic Ventures led with Y Combinator; 1517 Fund NOT publicly named in this formal seed). https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/27/launching-a-google-for-sound-deepgram-raises-1-8-million/↩

  20. First Funders podcast, Episode 14 transcript (Danielle Strachman, 1517 Fund), accessed July 2026 (Strachman: “1517 was the first check into Deepgram” — details Deepgram founder’s handwritten letter after initial discouragement). https://firstfunderspod.com/episodes/14-first-checks-for-dropouts-students-and-deep-tech-sci-fi-founders-danielle-strachman-1517-fund/transcript↩

  21. 3D Printing Industry, “nTopology CEO gives insight into generative design after raising $7.6M,” December 5, 2017, accessed July 2026 (confirms $7.6M Series A led by Data Collective + Root Ventures). https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/ntopology-ceo-gives-insight-generative-design-after-raising-7-6m-125665/↩

  22. MCADCafe / Digital Engineering, “nTopology Announces Series A Funding of $7.6M,” December 1, 2017, accessed July 2026 (confirms 1517 among 4 co-participants alongside CrunchFund, Haystack, Pathbreaker). https://www10.mcadcafe.com/nbc/articles/1/1551871/nTopology-Announces-Series-Funding-$7.6M↩

  23. Ethan Batraski (Venrock partner), “A Radical New Paradigm in Quantum Computing, Venrock’s Investment into Atom Computing,” Medium, September 25, 2018, accessed July 2026 (Venrock led seed round in “August” 2018; Atom Computing founded January 2018 by Ben Bloom and Jonathan King). https://medium.com/ethanjb/a-new-paradigm-in-quantum-computing-venrocks-investment-into-atom-computing-cea467daaeb↩

  24. Cents company press release, “Cents Announces $4.25M Fundraising Round,” accessed July 2026 (Bessemer led with Newfund, Riverpark, 1517 Fund, and Jason Finger participating). https://www.trycents.com/news/cents-announces-4.25m-fundraising-round↩

  25. Crunchbase, “Seed Round — Cents — 2020-11-01,” accessed July 2026 (records seed round with 2020-11-01 date, likely Form D filing; publicly announced 2021-02-15). https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/cents-ba2f-seed–fe92f668↩

  26. Hypepotamus, “Atlanta-based Presso raises $1.6M as Hollywood takes notes of its dry cleaning robot,” December 16, 2020, accessed July 2026 (independent primary contemporaneous press confirming $1.6M pre-seed with Pathbreaker, AME Cloud Ventures, SOSV, 1517 Fund, YETI Capital; Danielle Strachman quote: “Having worked first with the Presso team as a grantee and now as portfolio founders”). https://hypepotamus.com/news/presso-pre-seed/↩

  27. TechCrunch, “Dry-cleaning robotics startup Presso raises $1.6M as it shifts focus to Hollywood,” December 16, 2020, accessed July 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/16/dry-cleaning-robotics-startup-presso-raises-1-6m-as-it-shifts-focus-to-hollywood/↩

  28. SynBioBeta, “Trilobio Raises $8m to Deliver Whole Lab Automation for Biologists,” May 5, 2025, accessed July 2026 (trade press coverage of $8M Initialized Capital-led seed; total funding “over $11M” including 1517 Fund among earlier investors alongside Julian Capital, Juniper, Future Labs Capital, Alumni Ventures). https://www.synbiobeta.com/read/trilobio-raises-8m-to-deliver-whole-lab-automation-for-biologists↩

  29. PR Newswire, “Sequoia Capital Partners with Mach Industries to Revolutionize Defense Technology for the United States,” June 16, 2023, accessed July 2026 (primary company press release confirming USD 5.7M seed led by Sequoia Capital with Marque VC and Champion Hill Ventures participating; Sequoia’s first-ever defense-tech investment). https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sequoia-capital-partners-with-mach-industries-to-revolutionize-defense-technology-for-the-united-states-301852798.html↩

  30. Sequoia Capital, “Partnering with Mach Industries: A New Generation of Defense Technology,” June 15, 2023, accessed July 2026 (Sequoia’s own first-party partnership announcement posted one day before PR Newswire release). https://sequoiacap.com/article/partnering-with-mach-a-new-generation-of-defense-technology/↩

  31. TechCrunch, “Defense startup Mach Industries closes $79M Series A at $335M valuation,” October 4, 2023, accessed July 2026 (retrospectively confirms USD 5.7M seed round led by Sequoia Capital with Champion Hill Ventures and 1517 Fund among participants). https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/04/defense-startup-mach-industries-closes-79m-series-a-at-335m-valuation/↩

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