The Founder Network

241 founders · 331 documented relationships · 1820s→2020s About this map
How to explore: click any node to see that founder's full profile and every documented relationship. Click a name inside the panel to jump to them. Click legend colors to hide/show relationship types. Node size = number of connections.

Try: Peter Thiel (PayPal Mafia), Marc Andreessen (most connected), Sam Altman, Masayoshi Son, Steve Jobs.

The Founder Network

An interactive map of 241 historically notable founders — from Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and Carnegie through Hewlett & Packard, the PayPal Mafia, and today's AI labs — and 331 documented relationships between them: who co-founded with whom, who worked where, who invested in whom, who acquired whom, who mentored whom, and who sued whom.

Founder roster from founderprofiles.ai (Nova Global). Relationship and career data compiled from public records — news reports, filings, funding announcements — as of June 2026. Investments made through firms (Founders Fund, a16z, SoftBank, Tencent, Khosla Ventures…) are attributed to the founder who controls the firm. The edge list is curated, not exhaustive.