https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2015/04/16/peter-thiel-has-founded-at-least-five-lord-of-the.html
Peter Thiel has founded at least 5 'Lord of the Rings' -inspired companies
The UpTake: It turns out Peter Thiel has taken great inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series. Considering the huge amounts of cash flowing through these five companies, lets just hope he was mostly inspired by Rivendell's favorite wizard Gandalf, not the palantir-wielding Saruman.
By Michael del Castillo – Upstart Business Journal Technology & Innovation Editor,
Apr 16, 2015
E arlier today, German startup Number26 announced that Peter Theil’s New York City-based Valar Ventures joined in a 10 million euro round of funding to help grow the TechCrunch Disrupt winner into a global brand capable of disrupting Thiel’s favorite industry to mess with: banking.
Though Number26, which is still in beta, is interesting in its own right, the real news here, as far as I’m concerned, is that Peter Thiel has at least five companies named after things found in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
Here they are in order of founding date, with a brief description of what they do and what their name means in the Tolkien universe:
Palantir: Since 2004 Thiel’s Palantir has been building big data products use in a wide range of industries, from law enforcement to disease response. This company, with its $1 billion in venture capital, according to Crunchbase, was named after magical “seeing stones” that functioned as communication devices across great distances.
Rivendell One LLC: Little is known about this company, first discovered, along with Lembas in 2012 in an SEC document when Thiel sold most his shares in Facebook. Considering that Thiel was the first outside investor in Facebook way back in 2004, that makes both of these companies among the oldest of the five. Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Tolkien’s fictional Middle-Earth.
Lembas LLC: The second of two companies Thiel used to invest in Facebook, this investment firm was named after a tasty Elven bread, a bite of which is capable of sating one’s appetite.
Valar Ventures: Founded in 2010, according to Crunchbase, this venture capital firm, which has raised $100 million and focuses on global companies, most recently the Number26 round announced today. Valar were 15 ancient spirits or gods who lived in Tolkien’s mythical universe.
Mithril Capital Management: Based in San Francisco, this investment firm with $540 million in funds, was founded in 2012 to specialize in large-scale economics in financial sectors. Mithril is the lightweight metal stronger than steal which was fashioned to create the main character of the Hobbit, Bilbo’s chain mail vest.
According to a 2011 New Yorker report, Thiel read The Lord of the Rings, “again and again” as a teenager. This should come as no surprise, but it was his favorite book.
palantir = crystal ball = scrying(aka screen) mirror = looking glass