# Ryan Thompson

> Ryan Thompson is General Counsel and Partner at Felicis, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm that has backed over 50 unicorns and raised a $900M Fund X in 2025. A lawyer-turned-operator-turned-investor, Ryan brings nearly two decades of legal and operational muscle to one of Silicon Valley's most decorated early-stage firms. Before Felicis, he served as COO and General Counsel at Unusual Ventures and as General Counsel and VP of HR at Shape Security — which sold to F5 Networks for over $1 billion. He spent nine years as a corporate attorney at Goodwin Procter and DLA Piper, working on VC financings, M&A, and IPOs before crossing the table to the operator side.

- **Role:** General Counsel and Partner at Felicis
- **Organizations:** Felicis, Unusual Ventures, Shape Security, Goodwin Procter, DLA Piper
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Political Science, Boston College, JD, Santa Clara University School of Law
- **Known for:** Partner and General Counsel at Felicis, one of Silicon Valley's top early-stage VC firms with 50+ unicorns in portfolio, Served as General Counsel at Shape Security, which was acquired by F5 Networks for over $1 billion, Helped guide Felicis through fundraising for Fund X — the firm's largest-ever $900M fund (2025)

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Enrolled at Boston College, studying Political Science
- **2002** — Graduated Boston College with BA in Political Science
- **~2002** — Enrolled at Santa Clara University School of Law
- **~2005** — Joined DLA Piper (San Francisco) as associate — corporate and securities law
- **~2007** — Joined Goodwin Procter (Silicon Valley) as associate — VC financings, M&A, and IPOs
- **~2014** — Joined Shape Security as General Counsel and VP of Human Resources
- **2020** — Shape Security acquired by F5 Networks for over $1 billion
- **~2020** — Joined Unusual Ventures as COO and General Counsel
- **~2022** — Joined Felicis as General Counsel and Partner
- **2025** — Felicis closes Fund X at $900M — the firm's largest fund to date

## Achievements

- Partner and General Counsel at Felicis, one of Silicon Valley's top early-stage VC firms with 50+ unicorns in portfolio
- Served as General Counsel at Shape Security, which was acquired by F5 Networks for over $1 billion
- Helped guide Felicis through fundraising for Fund X — the firm's largest-ever $900M fund (2025)
- Nine years of BigLaw experience at Goodwin Procter and DLA Piper, representing VC firms and tech companies in M&A, IPOs, and venture financings
- COO and General Counsel of Unusual Ventures, building operational infrastructure alongside legal strategy
- Part of the Felicis team that has backed companies including Shopify, Twitch, Notion, Canva, Plaid, and Supabase

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — Felicis closes Fund X at $900M, its largest fund ever, with Ryan Thompson as Partner and General Counsel
- **2025-06** — Felicis predicts dozens of $100B+ AI companies will emerge this decade, with 70%+ of active portfolio now AI-native

## Links

- Website: https://felicis.com/team/ryan-thompson
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanthompson2
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ryanjthompson1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Felicis-Ventures/107766342587492

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ryan-thompson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17