‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Author Starts VC Fund Backed by Peter Thiel

  • Narya Capital to finance “scientifically complicated” startups
  • Eric Schmidt, Marc Andreessen are said to invest with Thiel
J.D. VancePhotographer: Steve Jennings/Getty Images
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With backing from Peter Thiel, Eric Schmidt, Marc Andreessen and other Silicon Valley kings, best-selling author J.D. Vance is spinning up a new Ohio-based venture capital firm.

Vance’s Narya Capital has raised $93 million from investors for its first fund, with plans to raise as much as $125 million total, according to a regulatory filing. The firm will invest in young startups in the fields of science and advanced technology with a typical check size between $5 million and $10 million, said a person familiar with the plans. It will eschew consumer-focused businesses, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.