Luke P. Nosek
Technology entrepreneur who co-founded PayPal and other consumer internet companies, and created “instant transfer” and the first on-line advertising network; General Partner at venture capital firm Founder’s Fund.
Luke Nosek is one of a team of University of Illinois computer engineering students/entrepreneurs from the mid-1990s that is creating and investing in new ventures that promise to change the world.
Nosek is a co-founder of PayPal and served as the company’s Vice President of Marketing and Strategy. While at PayPal, Nosek oversaw the company’s marketing efforts at launch, growing the user base to 1 million customers in the first six months. He also created “Instant Transfer,” PayPal’s most profitable product.
While a student at Illinois, Nosek teamed with fellow students Max Levchin and Scott Banister to found Sponsor Net New Media. Following graduation Nosek was an evangelist at Netscape before joining Levchin, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk and Ken Howery in founding PayPal.
Nosek has also co-founded two other consumer Internet companies, including the Web’s first advertising network, and was an active venture capitalist in his personal capacity before launching the venture capital firm, Founders Fund, which has assets of over $1 billion.
Founders Fund has invested in high-tech companies such as Airbnb, Facebook, and Palantir Technologies. A space enthusiast from an early age, Nosek helped lead a $20 Founders Fund investment in Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, a company in which he serves as director.
Nosek also co-founded Halcyon Molecular, Inc. in 2008, serving as its Founding President and serves as a Director of ResearchGATE GmbH, Halcyon Molecular, Inc., and Zivity, LLC.
Degrees
- 1996 BS Computer Engineering ILLINOIS