# Josh Kushner

> Josh Kushner is the founder and managing partner of Thrive Capital, a New York-based venture firm he started at age 24 with $5 million and has since grown to $50+ billion in AUM across 10 funds. He made one of the most consequential single bets in VC history by providing the only term sheet OpenAI received in 2022 at a $29 billion valuation. Co-founder of Oscar Health and Cadre, minority owner of the Miami Heat and San Francisco Giants, and husband of supermodel and media entrepreneur Karlie Kloss, Kushner operates from the Puck Building in Manhattan where his apartment and office share the same address. Known for his low-key demeanor, obsessive work ethic, and a hiring process that famously takes eight months.

- **Role:** Founder & Managing Partner at Thrive Capital
- **Organizations:** Thrive Capital, Oscar Health, Bedford Media, Thrive Holdings, Thrive Eternal, A24 (board member), Miami Heat (minority owner), San Francisco Giants (minority owner)
- **From:** Livingston, New Jersey, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Government/Political Science, Harvard College, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Built Thrive Capital from $5M Fund I to $50B+ AUM across 10 funds in under 15 years, Provided the only term sheet OpenAI received in 2022 at $29B valuation - arguably the most consequential single VC bet of the AI era, Co-founded Oscar Health, which went public in 2021 and restructured how consumers interact with health insurance

## Career timeline

- **2006** — Co-founded Vostu, a social networking/gaming platform targeting Latin America, while at Harvard
- **2008** — Graduated from Harvard College; co-founded Unithrive, a peer-to-peer student lending platform
- **2008** — Worked briefly at Goldman Sachs private equity (distressed debt)
- **2009** — Founded Thrive Capital at age 24 with ~$5 million in Fund I
- **2011** — Graduated from Harvard Business School; Thrive raised $40M Fund II
- **2012** — Thrive invested in Instagram's Series B; doubled money in 72 hours when Facebook acquired Instagram for $1B
- **2012** — Co-founded Oscar Health with Mario Schlosser and Kevin Nazemi
- **2012** — Met Karlie Kloss
- **2013** — Vostu wound down following Zynga copyright litigation
- **2015** — Co-founded Cadre real estate investment platform with Jared Kushner and Ryan Williams
- **2018** — Thrive led GitHub investment; Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5B; married Karlie Kloss
- **2021** — Oscar Health went public; Thrive held $1.21B stake at IPO; Thrive raised $2B Fund VII
- **2021** — Son Levi Joseph Kushner born; acquired Puck Building penthouse for ~$35M
- **2022** — Provided the only VC term sheet OpenAI received, investing $130M at $29B valuation; Thrive raised $3B Fund VIII
- **2022** — Became the first billionaire in the Kushner family
- **2022** — Nitin Nohria (former Harvard Business School dean) joined Thrive as Executive Chair
- **2023** — Led $1B+ Stripe round at $50B valuation; invested ~$1B in OpenAI at $86B valuation
- **2023** — Bob Iger, Mukesh Ambani, Henry Kravis, Xavier Niel, Jorge Paulo Lemann acquired 3.3% Thrive stake at $5.3B firm valuation
- **2023** — Son Elijah Jude Kushner born
- **2024** — Thrive led A24 funding round at $3.5B valuation; Kushner joined A24 board
- **2024** — Acquired Miami Heat minority stake; Bedford Media acquired i-D Magazine
- **2024** — Thrive raised $5B Fund IX; invested ~$1B in OpenAI at $150B valuation
- **2025** — Thrive invested ~$1B in OpenAI at $285B valuation; OpenAI took equity stake in Thrive Holdings
- **2025** — Named to TIME 100 Most Influential People in AI 2025
- **2025** — Bedford Media relaunched Life magazine; third child (daughter) born in September
- **2026** — Thrive Capital closed $10B+ Fund X, heavily oversubscribed
- **2026** — Launched Thrive Eternal; acquired minority stake in San Francisco Giants MLB team

## Achievements

- Built Thrive Capital from $5M Fund I to $50B+ AUM across 10 funds in under 15 years
- Provided the only term sheet OpenAI received in 2022 at $29B valuation - arguably the most consequential single VC bet of the AI era
- Co-founded Oscar Health, which went public in 2021 and restructured how consumers interact with health insurance
- Led Thrive's investment in Instagram's Series B - doubled money in 72 hours on Facebook's $1B acquisition
- Early investor in GitHub (~10% stake), acquired by Microsoft for $7.5B
- Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 (inaugural list), TIME 100 Most Influential in AI 2025, Fortune 100 Most Powerful in Business
- Became first billionaire in the Kushner family circa 2022
- Assembled an investor LP group including Bob Iger, Henry Kravis, and Mukesh Ambani who invested in Thrive personally
- Built a portfolio of 200+ companies including 39 unicorns
- Co-founded Cadre, an institutional real estate investment technology platform
- Minority owner of the Miami Heat (NBA) and San Francisco Giants (MLB)
- Joined board of A24 after Thrive led $3.5B valuation funding round

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Launched Thrive Eternal; announced minority stake in San Francisco Giants MLB team as first investment
- **2026-02** — Thrive Capital closed $10B+ Fund X - its largest ever, heavily oversubscribed, with focus on AI applications, infrastructure, space, robotics, and life sciences
- **2025-12** — Invested ~$1B in OpenAI at $285B valuation; OpenAI took equity stake in Thrive Holdings, embedding its engineering teams in Holdings' portfolio companies
- **2025-09** — Third child (daughter) born to Josh and Karlie Kloss
- **2025-05** — Named to TIME 100 Most Influential People in AI 2025
- **2025-02** — Bedford Media relaunched Life magazine with Karlie Kloss as editor (first print issue)

## Links

- Website: https://thrivecap.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-kushner-711b45230/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/joshuakushner
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuakushner/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/josh-kushner
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-05