Peter Thiel's Founders Fund prides itself on being a venture-capital firm that operates as nimbly as the startups that it backs. Anyone at the firm can scout out interesting companies to invest in, and — as long as there's consensus — make a commitment to fund the startup.
That lets the Founders Fund move quickly when it sees the right opportunity. And on Tuesday, the Fund announced its first-ever investment in cybersecurity, in a deal that it says came together in the span of one week.
The Founders Fund is coleading with Lightspeed Venture Partners a $37 million funding round in Arceo.ai, a San Francisco startup that analyzes the cybersecurity risks that businesses face. The startup, founded by two cybersecurity-industry veterans, recently came out of stealth mode.
"One of the things that makes Founders Fund unique is that we don't have a thesis," Founders Fund partner Trae Stephens, who led the Arceo.ai deal for Founders Fund, told Business Insider. "Once it becomes a thesis or a category, it's too late. We'd rather invest in an exceptional founder with a hard business rather than an average founder with a great business."
According to Stephens, Arceo.ai cofounders and co-CEOs Raj Shah and Vishaal Hariprasad fit the bill. The former US Air Force pilots had started two prior companies together and were tackling the murky territory of enterprise cybersecurity-risk analysis.
"They have lived and breathed the s ..
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