Founder Profile
Joe Lonsdale
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Joe Lonsdale?
Joe Lonsdale is a founder of Palantir Technologies Inc., which was founded in 2003 with Peter Thiel, Alexander Karp, Stephen Cohen and Nathan Gettings.
- Company founded
- Palantir Technologies Inc.
- Founded
- 2003
- Co-founders
- Peter Thiel, Alexander Karp, Stephen Cohen and Nathan Gettings
Background
Joe Lonsdale was a Stanford computer science student and PayPal intern when Peter Thiel invited him to join Palantir as a co-founder in 2003. He contributed primarily to business development and early commercial strategy before departing around 2009 to 2010. After leaving Palantir, Lonsdale founded Addepar, a wealth management software platform, and Formation 8 (now 8VC), a venture capital firm. He has since become one of Silicon Valley's most active conservative-aligned investors and policy advocates.
Founding Story
Joe Lonsdale joined Palantir's founding team in 2003, shortly after finishing Stanford, and worked on early operations and business development. After leaving the company he co-founded Addepar and OpenGov, started the venture firm 8VC, and co-founded the Cicero Institute policy group. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).