# Elad Gil
Elad Gil is a San Francisco-based solo venture investor and the founder and chief executive of Gil & Co (also called Gil Capital), a multi-stage investment firm, holding company and operating company that he runs largely as a one-person operation. He is known for early positions in artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, and Harvey, and for backing decacorn startups (companies valued above $10 billion) including Stripe, Anduril, Figma, and Deel. In 2026 Forbes ranked him [No. 6](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-6) on its Midas List, his second appearance after No. 87 in 2025.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) • [2](https://eladgil.com/) • [3](https://tim.blog/2026/04/29/elad-gil/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current role | Founder and CEO of Gil & Co (Gil Capital), a multi-stage investment firm, holding company and operating company[3](https://tim.blog/2026/04/29/elad-gil/) |
| Prior operating career | Product manager at Google (mobile Maps, Gmail); founder/CEO of Mixer Labs (acquired by Twitter); VP of Corporate Strategy at Twitter; cofounder of Color[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) • [4](https://blog.eladgil.com/about) |
| Education | Bachelor's degrees in mathematics and molecular biology from UC San Diego; PhD in biology from MIT[5](https://seedlist.com/investors/elad-gil.html) |
| Notable investments | OpenAI, Stripe, Anthropic, Perplexity, Character.AI, Harvey, Mistral, Cerebras, Cognition, Waymo, Anduril, Figma, Deel[2](https://eladgil.com/) • [1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) |
| Fund sizes | Third fund (Cosmic–Aleph 3) raised over $1 billion in 2023; new fundraise reported in 2025–2026 with reported targets from $1.5 billion up to $3 billion[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) • [6](https://www.thevccorner.com/p/elad-gil-solo-super-angel-solo-gp) • [5](https://seedlist.com/investors/elad-gil.html) |
| Forbes Midas List | 2025: No. 87 (first appearance); 2026: No. 6[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) • [5](https://seedlist.com/investors/elad-gil.html) |
| Company building | Cofounder of Color, which raised $100 million at a $4.6 billion valuation in 2021[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) |
## Education and career path
Gil trained as a scientist. He holds bachelor's degrees in mathematics and molecular biology from the University of California San Diego and a PhD in biology from the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology](https://www.edgepedia.org/massachusetts-institute-of-technology).[5](https://seedlist.com/investors/elad-gil.html) He has said he holds degrees in Math and Biology, including a PhD from MIT.[2](https://eladgil.com/)
His operating career began at Google, where he worked as a product manager on mobile products such as Maps and Gmail.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) According to his own bio, he started mobile at Google and ran AI-centric product organizations at Google and Twitter.[2](https://eladgil.com/) • [3](https://tim.blog/2026/04/29/elad-gil/)
He then started and sold his first company. Mixer Labs was acquired by Twitter when Twitter had fewer than 100 employees, and Gil joined as VP of Corporate Strategy.[4](https://blog.eladgil.com/about) His second company, the cancer detection startup Color ([Color Health](https://www.edgepedia.org/color-health)), which he cofounded, raised a $100 million round at a $4.6 billion valuation in 2021.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) Alongside investing, he authored the bestseller *High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People*, a guide to scaling companies.[3](https://tim.blog/2026/04/29/elad-gil/)
This sequence, scientist training, early mobile, and AI product work at Google, two founding stints, and a strategy role at a hypergrowth Twitter, is the background Gil himself points to for his move into full-time investing, which he runs through Gil & Co.[2](https://eladgil.com/) • [4](https://blog.eladgil.com/about)
## Gil Capital and the solo-GP model
Gil & Co is described by Gil as a multi-stage investment firm, and in a 2026 interview as a multi-stage investment firm, holding company, and operating company working on advanced technologies; he is its CEO.[2](https://eladgil.com/) • [3](https://tim.blog/2026/04/29/elad-gil/) Unlike a traditional partnership with multiple general partners, the firm's capital and decisions center on one person, a structure often called a solo-GP (solo general partner) model.
His funds have grown quickly. Forbes reports that he raised over $1 billion for a third fund in 2023.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) A directory profile gives more detail, stating that the third fund, named Cosmic–Aleph 3, closed in November 2023 with approximately $1.1 billion in commitments from 54 investors, after initially targeting $820 million, and that his second fund closed at $620 million in 2021; these are directory figures.[5](https://seedlist.com/investors/elad-gil.html)
His next vehicle is larger still, but its size is not settled. The VC Corner, a venture newsletter, reported that after the roughly $1.1 billion Cosmic–Aleph 3 vehicle, Gil was raising a new fund that could reach up to $3 billion, putting him "in the same neighborhood as the largest solo GPs on the planet."[6](https://www.thevccorner.com/p/elad-gil-solo-super-angel-solo-gp) A directory profile, citing mid-2025 reports, put the target at $1.5 billion, potentially up to $2 billion.[5](https://seedlist.com/investors/elad-gil.html) Forbes confirmed that over $1 billion had been raised for the 2023 third fund.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/)
## Notable investments and exits
Gil's reputation rests on early AI positions. By the time investors began grasping the implications of ChatGPT, he had already written seed checks to startups like [Perplexity](https://www.edgepedia.org/perplexity), Character.AI, and Harvey, according to [TechCrunch](https://www.edgepedia.org/techcrunch).[7](https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/01/early-ai-investor-elad-gil-finds-his-next-big-bet-ai-powered-rollups/) His own site lists early investments or led rounds in Abridge, Anthropic, Braintrust, Brain Co, Cerebras, Character, Cognition, Decagon, Harvey, Long Lake, Mistral, OpenAI, Perplexity, and Waymo, among others; Forbes names OpenAI as his notable deal.[2](https://eladgil.com/) • [1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/)
Beyond AI, Forbes describes him as one of the most prolific solo venture investors, backing decacorns including Anduril, Perplexity, Figma, Deel, and Stripe.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) His blog states he has backed roughly 40 "unicorns," about 30 of them at pre-seed, seed, or Series A, including Airbnb, Coinbase, Deel, Figma, Stripe, and Square.[4](https://blog.eladgil.com/about) Privately held Stripe's valuation reportedly settled in the range of $91.5 billion in early 2025.[7](https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/01/early-ai-investor-elad-gil-finds-his-next-big-bet-ai-powered-rollups/)
Recent activity shows both conventional rounds and a new strategy. In February 2025 Gil co-led Abridge's $250 million Series D; the healthcare AI company works on doctors' clinical documentation workflows. Harvey was reportedly in talks to raise at a $5 billion valuation.[7](https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/01/early-ai-investor-elad-gil-finds-his-next-big-bet-ai-powered-rollups/) By mid-2025, TechCrunch reported, Gil was pursuing AI-powered roll-ups, companies that buy and consolidate traditional businesses and automate them with AI; one example he backed is Enam Co., a one-year-old worker-productivity roll-up valued at more than $300 million by its backers, including [Andreessen Horowitz](https://www.edgepedia.org/andreessen-horowitz), and OpenAI's Startup Fund.[7](https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/01/early-ai-investor-elad-gil-finds-his-next-big-bet-ai-powered-rollups/)
## Public positions and recognition
Gil's Midas List trajectory moved sharply upward between his first two appearances: No. 87 in 2025 to No. 6 in 2026, the latter his second appearance.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) • [5](https://seedlist.com/investors/elad-gil.html) Forbes characterizes him as one of the most prolific solo venture investors.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) The sources kept for this article do not detail which returns or portfolio marks drove the rank; Forbes does not disclose its methodology in the material available here.
He co-hosts the AI podcast *No Priors* with Sarah Guo, an investor at Conviction.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/) A directory profile lists him as a board member at Anduril, Navan, and BioAge; this comes from a weaker directory source and should be treated as unverified.[5](https://seedlist.com/investors/elad-gil.html)
## References
1. [Elad Gil — Forbes Midas List profile](https://www.forbes.com/profile/elad-gil/)
2. [Elad Gil personal website](https://eladgil.com/)
3. [Tim Ferriss Show #863 — Elad Gil interview (April 29, 2026)](https://tim.blog/2026/04/29/elad-gil/)
4. [About — Elad Blog](https://blog.eladgil.com/about)
5. [Elad Gil — Seedlist.com](https://seedlist.com/investors/elad-gil.html)
6. [How Elad Gil Built a One-Person Multi-Billion Venture Machine — The VC Corner](https://www.thevccorner.com/p/elad-gil-solo-super-angel-solo-gp)
7. [Early AI investor Elad Gil finds his next big bet: AI-powered roll-ups — TechCrunch (June 1, 2025)](https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/01/early-ai-investor-elad-gil-finds-his-next-big-bet-ai-powered-rollups/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Founders, operators, and investors › Venture and growth investors › United States venture since 1985*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license