James Fitzgerald is a founding partner at Valar Ventures who helped spin the firm out of Peter Thiel's family office, bringing an unusual combination of operating, legal, and investment experience from his previous role as COO and General Counsel at Thiel's hedge fund. He has built a reputation as a global fintech specialist who focuses on backing category-defining financial services companies in overlooked geographies like Europe, Latin America, Africa, and South Asia, often targeting boring but massive problems in financial infrastructure rather than consumer trends. James Fitzgerald is a founding partner at Valar Ventures who helped spin the firm out of Peter Thiel's family office, bringing an unusual combination of operating, legal, and investment experience from his previous role as COO and General Counsel at Thiel's hedge fund. He has built a reputation as a global fintech specialist who focuses on backing category-defining financial services companies in overlooked geographies like Europe, Latin America, Africa, and South Asia, often targeting boring but massive problems in financial infrastructure rather than consumer trends.