Off Piste Capital is a Stavanger, Norway-based solo GP venture firm founded in 2026 by Max Samuel. Samuel spent seven years at Thiel Capital, Peter Thiel's private investment office in San Francisco and Los Angeles, before moving to Norway in 2020 and joining SNÖ Ventures as General Partner for five years, where he invested across the Nordics and Europe. Off Piste is built around a distinctive sourcing position: deep embeddedness in the Thiel ecosystem, including PayPal Mafia, Thiel Fellowship, Founders Fund, SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril alumni networks, combined with on-the-ground proximity to European founders who want a direct line to US capital, customers, and talent.
Off Piste backs early-stage companies building the systems and infrastructure of the future, with a focus on defense tech, space infrastructure, cryptographic infrastructure, and AI.
The firm operates across the US and Europe, sourcing deals through its Thiel network in the US and its European operator relationships, writing small collaborative checks that enable flexible co-investment with tier-one US and European funds.
Off Piste Fund I held a first close in April 2026, targeting $30M.
LPs include Edition Ventures (fund-of-funds spun out of Thiel Capital), current and former Thiel Capital leadership, Apeiron Investment Group ($7B investment firm founded by serial entrepreneur Christian Angermayer), Wilson Sonsini, leadership from multi-stage funds across the US and Europe, unicorn founders, and strategic family offices.
Norwegian LPs include Ragnar Horn, Erik Braathen, and Aleksander Larsen (co-founder of Stendr and Sky Mavis). Co-investors in Off Piste's existing portfolio include a16z, Peter Thiel, Balaji Srinivasan, ACME, Variant, ex/ante, and Y Combinator.
Leadership
Max Samuel is Founder and Solo GP. He spent seven years at Thiel Capital before moving to Norway and joining SNÖ Ventures as General Partner, where he invested across the Nordics and Europe for five years. Prior experience includes Credit Suisse and Wilson Sonsini.
He is based in Stavanger, Norway.
Investment Strategy
Off Piste writes small, collaborative early-stage checks, enabling flexible co-investment with larger funds on both sides of the Atlantic.
The firm's sourcing strategy runs on two tracks: in the US, proprietary deal flow from the Thiel ecosystem and close relationships with founders and operators from prior investments; in Europe, attracting ambitious founders who want structured access to US capital, customers, technology partnerships, and talent through a GP with genuine US network depth.
Notable Investments
Norway
