The New York Times reported in January 2020 that Thiel gave Clearview’s founder $200,000 in 2017, which later converted to equity, and that Thiel and Kirenaga Partners were its first outside investors. Thiel’s spokesman said he was not involved in the company. [1][2]
Clearview built its database by collecting public images from the web, against the terms of sites including Facebook, where Thiel was a director. CNN reported that Facebook, Thiel and Clearview’s chief executive all declined to say whether Thiel knew. [3]
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