As a venture capitalist and entrepreneur, he has been involved in some of the most dynamic companies to emerge from Silicon Valley over the past two decades. In 1998, Thiel made e-commerce easier, faster, and more secure by co-founding PayPal, defining a new era of fast and secure online commerce. He was the first outside investor and director at Facebook, and also launched Palantir Technologies, where he serves as chairman of the board of directors. Peter established and funds the Thiel Foundation, which promotes freedom in all its forms while working to advance technological progress and long-term thinking about the future.