Former OpenAI Employees Launch $100 Million AI Fund

⚡

Key Takeaways

1A group of former OpenAI employees has created Zero Shot, a venture capital fund aiming to raise $100 million.

2The fund has already invested in promising startups like Worktrace AI and Foundry Robotics, specializing in automation and robotics.

3The founders are steering clear of trends like vibe coding and digital twins, which they consider not viable in the long term.

💡Why it matters — Zero Shot could influence the future of AI by supporting innovative technologies while avoiding the pitfalls of fleeting trends.

A New Venture Capital Fund Emerges

A group of former OpenAI collaborators has recently taken a bold initiative by launching a venture capital fund named Zero Shot. This fund, which aims to raise a total of $100 million, has already reached an initial funding milestone, according to information shared by its founders with TechCrunch. The partners of this fund have already begun investing in promising projects.

The name Zero Shot is a nod to AI jargon, and the founding team consists of several former OpenAI employees who made the leap into venture capital almost by chance.

The Founders Behind Zero Shot

Among the key figures of this fund is Evan Morikawa, who played a crucial role in the development of DALL·E and ChatGPT via Codex. He is currently engaged with the robotics startup Generalist. Andrew Mayne, known for his work on prompts at OpenAI and host of the OpenAI podcast, has also founded Interdimensional, an AI consulting firm. Shawn Jain, a former researcher at OpenAI, has since launched his own startup, Synthefy.

Joining these former OpenAI employees is Kelly Kovacs, former founding partner of 01A, a venture capital firm created by Dick Costello and Adam Bain. The fifth member, Brett Rounsaville, has experience at Twitter and Disney and is currently the CEO of Interdimensional.

A Long-Standing Friendship

These former colleagues from OpenAI share a friendship that dates back several years, as Mayne explained to TechCrunch. They worked together before the launch of ChatGPT, during a period of rapid growth for OpenAI.

After leaving OpenAI, they were frequently sought after for their advice on emerging AI technologies, both by investors and entrepreneurs. This constant demand led Mayne to create his own consulting firm.

A Vision for the Future of AI

The former OpenAI employees noticed a significant gap between funded AI startups and the actual market needs. This observation prompted them to consider creating their own fund, convinced of their ability to anticipate industry developments and identify promising talent.

After discussions with various institutions and family offices, they successfully raised an initial amount of $20 million and are now aiming for a total fund of $100 million. A few investments have already been made.

Strategic Investments

Zero Shot has already supported Angela Jiang, a product lead at OpenAI, and her startup Worktrace AI. This company is developing an AI-powered automated management platform that helps businesses identify and automate tasks. Worktrace AI has raised $10 million, with contributions from influential figures like Mira Murati and the OpenAI fund, according to PitchBook.

The team has also invested in Foundry Robotics, a startup specializing in AI-enhanced manufacturing robots, which recently raised $13.5 million in a funding round led by Khosla Ventures. A third startup, still in stealth mode, has also received support from Zero Shot.

Trends to Avoid

The founders of Zero Shot believe they have a better understanding of the evolution of AI than many other investors, which helps them wisely choose the startups to support and avoid certain trends.

Mayne is skeptical about the future of vibe coding, predicting that modeling experts will quickly render these platforms obsolete. Morikawa, with his experience in AI and robotics, criticizes the many startups focused on video data for robotics, which he deems unviable.

Mayne also expresses doubts about startups developing digital twins, after testing their effectiveness and concluding that a classic LLM model performs just as well.

Valuable Expertise

The ability to predict the evolution of AI models is crucial, according to Morikawa, as these developments do not follow a linear trajectory. In addition to the founders, Zero Shot benefits from the expertise of renowned advisors, such as Diane Yoon, former head of HR at OpenAI, Steve Dowling, former head of communications at OpenAI and Apple, and Luke Miller, former product lead at OpenAI.