New class includes young entrepreneurs across biotech, hardware, AI, crypto, and more
The Thiel Foundation has officially unveiled its 2025 class of Thiel Fellows, assembling a group of brilliant young minds from around the world who are set to disrupt their chosen industries, uninhibited by the constraints of the modern education system.
Established in 2011, the two-year Thiel Fellowship awards grants to extraordinary young individuals to allow them to pursue groundbreaking endeavors of their own design. Each fellow in this year’s class will receive $200,000 over the next two years, an increase from the $100,000 awarded to prior classes. Through association with The Thiel Foundation, fellows gain access to a valuable network of tech founders, investors, scientists, and former fellows. In return, fellows must commit to focusing full-time on their projects, companies, or ideas unencumbered by traditional academic constraints. All fellows selected for this year’s class were 22 or younger when applying. The Fellowship looks for the individuals behind the projects. While some have successfully started companies, others have not yet even incorporated.
“Per the Roman dictum “corruptio optimi pessima”—the corruption of the best is the worst—higher education is the worst institution we have. For these exceptional fellows, we are providing an alternative,” said Peter Thiel, Chairman of the Thiel Foundation.
The new class joins 290 previous fellows. Prior classes include founders of Ethereum, Figma, Mercor, OYO Rooms, and Stord. Since the Fellowship’s inception, fellows have founded companies or projects collectively worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
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