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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThe phrase “Trump’s VP candidate” refers to JD Vance’s selection as Donald Trump’s running mate in 2024. The White House now identifies Vance as vice president. Before entering politics, Vance worked at two venture-capital firms and co-founded Narya Capital, a Cincinnati-based fund. His career connected him to prominent Silicon Valley investors, including Peter Thiel, while also centering on investment beyond the established tech hubs.
Vance’s venture-capital career, in sequence
| Firm or initiative | Vance’s role | What it focused on |
|---|---|---|
| Mithril Capital | Principal | A San Francisco venture firm co-founded by Peter Thiel and Ajay Royan. |
| Revolution and Rise of the Rest | Managing director at Revolution; helped Steve Case launch Rise of the Rest | Startups outside the major U.S. technology hubs. |
| Narya Capital | Co-founder with Colin Greenspon | Startups in underserved parts of the United States. |
The chronology is reported by TechCrunch; the broader account of his background is also covered by the Council on Foreign Relations.
Mithril Capital: the Silicon Valley connection
After Yale Law School, Vance moved to San Francisco and became a principal at Mithril Capital, the fund co-founded by Thiel and Royan. The Council on Foreign Relations reports that Vance joined Mithril in 2015 and became a partner within a year. TechCrunch reports that Mithril raised funds of $540 million in 2013 and $850 million in 2017. Those are reported fund sizes, not amounts Vance personally raised or invested.
Revolution: investing beyond established tech hubs
In 2017, Vance joined Steve Case’s Washington, D.C.-based Revolution as a managing director. He helped Case launch Rise of the Rest, an effort to support startups outside the country’s major technology centers. TechCrunch identifies Aatmunn, which developed construction-worker safety software and wearable devices, and indoor-farming company AppHarvest among Revolution investments Vance helped make. AppHarvest went public through a SPAC in 2021 and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2023, according to TechCrunch.
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Narya Capital: a fund Vance co-founded
Vance and Colin Greenspon co-founded Narya Capital in Cincinnati. The firm’s reported geographic focus—startups in underserved parts of the United States—echoed the emphasis of Rise of the Rest. TechCrunch reported that by early 2020 Narya had raised $93 million toward a $125 million target, with limited partners including Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Eric Schmidt. These figures describe Narya’s reported fundraising at that time; they are not Mithril figures or Vance’s personal assets.
Did Peter Thiel hire JD Vance?
Vance worked at Mithril, a firm co-founded by Thiel and Ajay Royan. TIME’s 2024 profile describes Thiel as hiring Vance at one of his Silicon Valley venture firms. Thiel was also among the investors TechCrunch named in Narya’s early fundraising. These links establish a professional and financial connection; they do not, by themselves, establish that Thiel directed Vance’s later political career.
TIME also connects Vance’s views about economic concentration to his experience in the venture-capital world. That is an interpretation of how his outlook developed, not a settled explanation of his political positions.
What happened to Vance’s role at Narya?
Vance stepped back from Narya after winning election to the Senate. In July 2024, TechCrunch reported that Greenspon managed the firm and that it was raising a second fund, citing a late-2022 regulatory filing. That account describes the status reported at the time; it does not establish Narya’s current management, fundraising, or investment portfolio.
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How venture capital fit into Vance’s public profile
Vance’s venture work followed the publication of his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis, which brought him wider public attention. The book and his career in investing became part of the public story around his move from Ohio to Silicon Valley and then into politics. His career is not evidence that he remains a venture capitalist: the reported sequence is that he stepped back from Narya after entering the Senate.
Axios characterizes Vance’s venture-capital career as six years across three firms. That is Axios’s description of the span, rather than a formal industry classification. The documented outline is more specific: a role at Mithril, a move to Revolution and Rise of the Rest, and the co-founding of Narya in Ohio.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the record shows—and what it does not
- Vance’s Silicon Valley ties began with employment at Mithril Capital, co-founded by Thiel and Royan.
- He later worked at Revolution and helped build an initiative focused on startups outside major U.S. tech hubs.
- He co-founded Narya in Cincinnati; early reported investors included Thiel, Andreessen, and Schmidt.
- He stepped back from Narya after his Senate election. Available reporting cited here does not establish the fund’s later status.
- The fund-size and fundraising figures are reported by TechCrunch, not presented here as primary fund disclosures.
The White House’s biography of JD Vance identifies him as vice president and says Trump asked him to serve as the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2024. The candidate wording belongs to that selection period; it is not his current office.
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