Startup Funding

12 Startups Selected for the 2026 Thiel Fellowship

The newest class of fellows from the Thiel Fellowship is tackling some of the most ambitious problems in technology, from autonomous logistics and robotics to financial infrastructure, AI research, biotech simulations, and next-generation commerce platforms.

This year’s cohort reflects where global innovation is heading. Artificial intelligence remains a dominant theme, but the 2026 fellows are also building in industries like defense tech, fintech, robotics, logistics, infrastructure, fraud detection, and biotech. The selected founders span the globe, representing cities across North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Here’s a closer look at the 2026 Thiel Fellows and the companies they’re building.

1. Cavalla, Victor Boyd

Cavalla, founded by Victor Boyd, is focused on radically accelerating the movement of goods.

The startup’s long-term vision is ambitious: getting anything anywhere in under five hours. Cavalla is beginning with autonomous forklifts while working toward larger infrastructure systems, including what Boyd describes as “hypersonic highways.” The company sits at the intersection of robotics, logistics, and advanced transportation infrastructure.

2. Praso, Samuel Carvalho

Praso, founded by Samuel Carvalho, is modernizing wholesale commerce for underserved regions in Brazil.

Praso is building infrastructure that combines procurement, credit, and workflow tools for SMBs. The company aims to streamline operations for merchants and businesses that have historically lacked access to modern commerce systems and financial infrastructure.

3. EveryTicker, Nick Dobroshinsky

EveryTicker, founded by Nick Dobroshinsky, is designed to make institutional-grade financial research accessible to a broader audience.

The company focuses on covering the thousands of smaller public companies often overlooked by Wall Street analysts, giving retail investors and market participants deeper access to market intelligence across the U.S. stock market.

4. Juicebox, Ishan Gupta

Juicebox, founded by Ishan Gupta, is building AI-powered recruiting technology focused on improving hiring decisions.

The startup is creating AI agents that evaluate real-world skills and competencies, aiming to reduce bias and inefficiencies in the hiring process. Juicebox is part of a growing wave of startups attempting to reshape talent acquisition using AI-driven assessments.

5. Derpetual, Antoni Kiszka

Derpetual, founded by Antoni Kiszka, is building infrastructure for leveraged markets across a wide range of assets.

The startup’s broader mission is to enable markets for virtually any asset category, expanding how financial instruments can be traded and accessed.

6. Opt32, Milan Lustig

Opt32, founded by Milan Lustig, is building compute systems designed to bring AI directly into physical machines.

Opt32 is focused on enabling onboard AI for robots, drones, and vehicles, an increasingly important segment as edge computing and autonomous systems continue to advance.

7. Standard Intelligence, Galen Mead

Standard Intelligence, founded by Galen Mead, is working on aligned general learning systems.

The company is training large-scale models that actively explore and learn from the internet, reflecting the growing race toward more autonomous and adaptive AI systems.

8. Swoop, Aubrey Niederhoffer

Swoop, founded by Aubrey Niederhoffer, is beginning with food delivery services in Nigeria.

The startup plans to expand into financial services across Africa, positioning itself as a broader consumer technology platform that combines logistics, payments, and commerce into a single ecosystem.

9. Sentient Machines, Harry O’Connor

Sentient Machines, founded by Harry O’Connor, is building foundational AI models for robotics.

The company’s goal is to create systems that generalize across environments and tasks, addressing one of the largest technical challenges in robotics today.

10. The Antifraud Company, Alex Shieh

The Antifraud Company, founded by Alex Shieh, combines AI with investigative journalism techniques.

The company positions itself as a “fraud bounty hunter,” focused on identifying fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars through advanced investigative systems.

11. Claire Wang

Claire Wang is working on biologically accurate simulations of nervous systems, beginning with C. elegans.

Her work aims to build simulated brains that researchers can communicate with directly, laying foundational groundwork for future brain-computer interface technologies and neuroscience research.

12. Action, Kyler Wang

Action, founded by Kyler Wang, is an artificial intelligence startup currently operating in stealth mode.

While details remain limited, the company joins a broader wave of AI startups emerging from the fellowship program.

A New Generation of Builders

The 2026 Thiel Fellowship cohort highlights a broader shift happening across the startup ecosystem. Founders are increasingly targeting large-scale infrastructure problems, from AI alignment and robotics to financial systems, logistics, biotech simulations, and global commerce.

Rather than focusing solely on consumer apps, many of this year’s fellows are building foundational technologies with the potential to reshape industries at scale. The global nature of the cohort also underscores how innovation is no longer concentrated in a single region, with founders emerging from Brazil, India, Poland, Ireland, Nigeria-focused ventures, and beyond.

As AI, robotics, and infrastructure continue to dominate venture capital interest, this year’s fellows offer an early glimpse into the technologies and industries many investors believe could define the next decade.

Startup Capital Stack: Keeping More Pie in Your Company

As Paul Graham, the co-founder of the world’s top startup accelerator, says, avoid venture debt. For years, startup fundraising felt like a binary decision: raise venture capital or pursue non-dilutive funding like grants. But today, that model is outdated. The most successful founders are no longer choosing between the two, they’re combining them. Welcome to the rise of blended capital stacks.

Avoid venture debt. https://t.co/Z2qrWy19Sb

— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 5, 2026

This modern fundraising strategy combines equity and non-dilutive funding into a structured approach designed to maximize valuation and minimize dilution. Instead of relying on a single capital source, startups are stacking funding types in a strategic sequence: grants → revenue-based financing (RBF) → venture debt (avoid it)→ equity. And in 2026, this hybrid model is quickly becoming best practice.

What Is a Blended Capital Stack?

A blended capital stack is a fundraising strategy where startups layer multiple types of capital both dilutive and non-dilutive over time. Rather than raising venture capital upfront, founders use alternative funding sources to build traction first. This approach allows startups to:

– Extend runway without giving up equity
– Improve key metrics before raising
– Increase leverage in investor negotiations
– Raise at higher valuations

In short, it’s about being strategic when it comes to capital, not reactive.

Why Non-Dilutive Funding Is Leading the Shift

The growing popularity of non-dilutive funding for startups is driving this trend. Founders are realizing they don’t need to give up ownership early just to get started. Here’s how each layer in a blended capital stack works:

1. Grants (Zero Dilution Capital)

Startup grants are often the first layer. They provide funding for innovation, R&D, and early-stage development without requiring repayment or equity. For startups in sectors like AI, climate tech, and biotech, grants can fund critical early milestones that are completely dilution-free.

For grants opportunities check out startup grants in Canada, accelerators programs, and startup competitions.

2. Revenue-Based Financing (RBF)

Once a startup has revenue, revenue-based financing becomes a powerful tool. Instead of giving up equity, founders repay investors as a percentage of monthly revenue. This makes RBF ideal for SaaS and recurring revenue businesses looking to scale without dilution.

3. Venture Debt (avoid it)

Venture debt is often used to extend runway between equity rounds. It allows startups to access capital without immediately diluting ownership. Some startup leaders have strong views on venture debt as many say to avoid it all together. Venture debt seems to kill startups than to actually save it.

4. Equity (Raised Later, Smarter)

Only after building traction through non-dilutive funding do many startups choose to raise venture capital. By this stage, they typically have stronger revenue metrics, a proven product-market fit, and better growth data.

This ultimately translates into higher valuations and less dilution in each funding round.

Maximize Valuation, Minimize Dilution

At its core, a blended capital stack is about optimization. Traditional fundraising often forces founders to give up significant equity early, when their valuation is at its lowest. By contrast, this hybrid approach allows founders to delay equity fundraising until the company is in a stronger position.

This results in founders retaining more ownership, gaining better negotiating power with investors, and increasing their long-term upside. In today’s tighter capital markets, this strategy isn’t just smart, it is necessary.

Why blended capital is now best practice comes down to several macro trends that are accelerating the shift toward hybrid funding strategies. Venture capital has become more selective, valuations are under pressure, founders are prioritizing capital efficiency, and more non-dilutive funding options are available than ever before.

As a result, startups that rely solely on equity are at a disadvantage. Blended capital stacks offer greater flexibility, improved resilience, and more control, all of which are critical for founders navigating uncertain markets.

Challenges to consider are important, as this approach, while powerful, is not without complexity. Managing a blended capital stack requires strong financial planning, a clear understanding of different funding instruments, and operational discipline, especially when working with grants and debt.

Each type of funding comes with its own trade-offs. Grants require ongoing reporting, revenue-based financing depends on steady and predictable revenue, and venture debt introduces repayment obligations.

However, for founders who manage it effectively, the upside far outweighs the added complexity.

How to Build a Blended Capital Strategy

If you’re a founder, start thinking about your funding strategy early. Here are three key principles:

1. Think in sequences, not events. Each funding source should unlock the next stage of growth.
2. Start with non-dilutive capital. Use grants and alternative financing to build traction before raising equity.
3. Be intentional with dilution. Only raise venture capital when it gives you a clear strategic advantage.

The future of startup fundraising isn’t about choosing between venture capital and non-dilutive funding.
It’s about combining them. Blended capital stacks represent a smarter, more strategic approach to raising money—one that prioritizes efficiency, control, and long-term value. In a world where capital is no longer easy, founders who master this approach won’t just survive. They’ll outperform.