From Business Insider, July 11:
- Anduril cofounder Palmer Luckey is launching Erebor, a bank that will serve crypto clients and startups.
- BI obtained a memo that describes leadership at the neobank.
- The executives have ties to traditional banking, politics, and Big Law.
Palmer Luckey, CEO of defense tech giant Anduril Industries, is quietly building a new digital banking venture — and we now know more about who will be helping him.
The startup, Erebor, is raising $225 million at a $2 billion valuation, Business Insider reported in July. It has backing from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Joe Lonsdale's 8VC. It filed for a national bank charter in June, and will serve clients like crypto companies and startups — a niche once occupied by Silicon Valley Bank.
While little has been publicly revealed about Erebor so far, documents obtained by Business Insider shed some light on the team behind it.
Luckey and four cofounders — Trevor Capozza, Jacob Hirshman, Aaron Pelz and Owen Rapaport — are at the helm, according to a fundraising memo that described the company's leadership and plans. Hirshman and Rapaport are listed as co-CEOs of Erebor, per the memo.
Three other executives — chief risk officer Joshua Rosenberg, chief financial officer Ricky Grant, and chief credit officer Vlad Dubinsky — have backgrounds in banking and bank regulation, and their involvement with the company hasn't previously been reported.
A banking lawyer at Skadden who appears on Erebor's bank charter application and is listed as its spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment.
Here's what we know about the names.
Founder: Palmer Luckey
Luckey is the founder of Erebor, according to the memo.
He previously cofounded Anduril, a defense tech company that makes AI-powered autonomous military systems, in 2017. Founders Fund led the latest Anduril round — a $2.5 billion fundraise at a $30.5 billion valuation — with a $1 billion investment, the largest check the firm has ever written, Tech Crunch reported in June.
Before Anduril, Luckey launched Oculus, a virtual reality company, when he was 19. He sold it to Facebook, now Meta Platforms, for $2 billion in cash and stock in 2014. In 2016, Luckey was fired from Meta after donating $10,000 to a pro-Donald Trump group.
Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg have denied that Luckey left over his politics. Anduril partnered with Meta in May to make headsets and wearable devices for the military.
Luckey didn't respond to requests for comment.
Co-Founder: Trevor Capozza
Capozza is listed as a cofounder of Erebor in the memo. His LinkedIn profile says he is a cofounder of a "stealth startup," a term used to describe a company before it has officially launched.
He serves as the head of operations of Luckey's family office, according to LinkedIn. Capozza began his career at Optimozo, a private company, where he did asset management, his LinkedIn profile shows.
His name has appeared in tax forms filed by a Luckey-linked nonprofit, the Pacific Treasure Foundation, as well as in registration paperwork for a virtual-reality news website, a firm called Trisolaris LLC, and another business called Project Passive LLC.
Capozza declined to comment.
President: Michael Hagedorn
Hadegorn is Erebor's president, his LinkedIn shows. According to his profile, the fintech startup "seeks to revolutionize banking services for the innovation economy."
Hadegorn has held executive positions at UMB Financial Corporation and Valley National Bank. He started his career at Wells Fargo, where he worked for nearly 17 years. At Wells Fargo, Hagedorn led the Midwest banking group for five years, his LinkedIn profile shows.
Hagedorn didn't respond to a request for comment.
Co-Founder/Co-CEO: Owen Rapaport
Rapaport is listed as a co-founder and co-CEO of Erebor focused on "product, credit, and customer success," the memo says.
Before joining Erebor, Rapaport cofounded and served as CEO at crypto-monitoring company Aer Compliance, which merged with StarCompliance in 2024.
Before that, he worked at Electrum, a bitcoin wallet company, and was a consultant at Bain & Company, according to his LinkedIn.
Rapaport didn't respond to a request for comment.
Co-Founder/Co-CEO: Jacob Hirshman
Hirshman is listed as a cofounder and co-CEO of Erebor and is focused on "sales, marketing, and regulatory" work, the memo says. Hirshman's LinkedIn profile lists him as a cofounder of a "stealth startup."
Hirshman works at stablecoin issuer Circle, which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in early June, as an advisor, according to his LinkedIn. Before that, Hirshman spent almost a year as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell after graduating from law school at the University of Pennsylvania, his LinkedIn profile says.
Hirshman declined to comment....
....MUCH MORE
Not a very talkative bunch, kudos to BI for doing a bit of digging.
