Ryan Petersen, the founder of logistics startup Flexport Inc., has joined the Peter Thiel-backed venture capital firm Founders Fund as partner.
(Bloomberg) — Ryan Petersen, the founder of logistics startup Flexport Inc., has joined the Peter Thiel-backed venture capital firm Founders Fund as partner.
“We’ve always struggled to define the quintessential Founders Fund founder,” said Trae Stephens, a Founders Fund partner. “Clearly, it’s Ryan.”
Petersen has stepped away from the chief executive officer role at Flexport, and was replaced by Amazon.com Inc. veteran Dave Clark. At the time Petersen left, Flexport had raised more than $2 billion in funding and was valued at $8 billion, making the startup one of the most valuable in the country. Earlier this year, as global trade slowed, the startup cut about 20% of its staff.
Forbes earlier reported Petersen’s VC appointment.
Founders Fund is an investor in Flexport, but Petersen and Thiel have not always seen eye to eye. In comments at a tech conference in 2016, Petersen criticized then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, whom Thiel had supported in that year’s election.
Bloomberg Beta, the venture capital arm of Bloomberg LP, is an investor in Flexport.
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