Jim Siders speaks at the event
Provided by: Jim Siders
Thrive Capital, a tech investment firm known for its large stakes in companies such as OpenAI, Stripe and Databricks, announced on Monday that it had been wiretapped. Palantir Veteran Jim Siders will become CEO of Shield Technology Partners, a newly formed business focused on IT services.
Mr. Siders has been with Palantir for more than 12 years, most recently as Chief Information Officer, where he oversaw global IT operations, business applications, and infrastructure. He started his career with the company as an IT helpdesk engineer.
Palantir has been one of the best-performing companies on the stock market during the artificial intelligence boom, soaring nearly 30 times since the end of 2022.
Thrive, founded by Josh Kushner, launched Thrive Holdings in April to create a division to own and operate companies it believes could benefit from technological change. Shield was founded in June by Thrive Holdings and investment firm ZBS Partners with initial funding of over $100 million.
Shield seeks to purchase ownership of IT services companies and help them grow by providing access to cutting-edge AI technology and engineering capabilities.
“If we do this right, we’re going to create a lot of value all the way up the chain, from the end customer to us at Shield,” Siders said in an interview with CNBC. “These are great businesses and will continue to grow.”
As of December, Shield had partnerships with seven companies and is expected to generate more than $100 million in revenue this year, Thrive said. Shield primarily works with small and medium-sized businesses and has ambitions to expand its portfolio in the future.
In addition to working with Shield in IT services, Thrive Holdings also operates in the accounting sector.
Earlier this month, OpenAI announced it would acquire ownership of Thrive Holdings and bring its engineering, research, and product teams in-house.
“We said, ‘The way we’re going to achieve the best outcome for our customers is if OpenAI is an owner of Thrive Holdings with us,'” Anuj Mehndiratta, a member of Thrive Holdings’ founding team, said in an interview. “Being an owner allows them to really focus on the end result, just like we do.”
Shield’s ownership structure is based on a similar philosophy. To align incentives and encourage enterprise participation, IT services organizations supported by Shield will also acquire equity in Shield.
Siders began his tenure as Shield’s CEO on Monday, saying his initial focus will be on understanding existing partners and looking for potential targets. He said Shield would be ambitious over the next few quarters.
“There’s a whole industry out there, people who have spent their careers delivering this value for the benefit of everyone,” Siders said. “It’s something unique and special to attack.”
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