When it comes to tech startups, what\u2019s in a name? <\/p>\n
Today, a lot of them end with \u201cAI.\u201d Sometimes, you pivot and change the name<\/a> to reflect your company\u2019s new focus. And sometimes you just want to evoke a mythic power and flex your nerdy bona fides. <\/p>\n There\u2019s one source of inspiration that tech startups have turned to more than others:\u00a0the works of JRR Tolkien. Especially when venture capitalist Peter Thiel is involved. <\/p>\n This week the Financial Times reported<\/a> that Thiel, along with Palmer Luckey, the cofounder of weapons and surveillance systems manufacturer Anduril, returned to Middle Earth for the name of the new national bank they\u2019re starting to take the place of Silicon Valley Bank, which served a large part of the tech startup and venture capital world before collapsing<\/a> in 2023. <\/p>\n \u201cErebor Bank\u201d<\/b> takes its name from Erebor, otherwise known as the \u201cLonely Mountain,\u201d which featured prominently in Tolkien\u2019s 1937 novel \u201cThe Hobbit.\u201d Erebor is home to Smaug the dragon, who, like President Trump, surrounds himself with gold<\/a>. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s see if you can pick the real company names inspired by Tolkien\u2019s works from the fake ones we made up.<\/p>\n (If you need some help, we\u2019ve got two spoilers below the quiz) <\/p>\n