Former OpenAI Employees Launch Venture Fund Zero Shot
A group of former employees from OpenAI, a renowned company specializing in artificial intelligence technology, has launched a new venture fund named Zero Shot. The fund has already attracted part of its planned $100 million and made initial investments in AI-focused startups.
A group of former employees from OpenAI, a renowned company specializing in artificial intelligence technology, has launched a new venture fund named Zero Shot. The fund has already attracted part of its planned $100 million and made initial investments in AI-focused startups, according to a report by TechCrunch.
The Zero Shot fund was established by several former OpenAI employees, including Evan Morikawa, who was involved in the launch of products like DALL·E and ChatGPT through Codex, and Andrew Main, one of the company's first prompt engineers. Additionally, the team includes Sean Jane, a former engineer and researcher at OpenAI, venture investor Kelly Kovacs, and Bret Ronsanville, who previously worked at Twitter and Disney.
The founders of the fund emphasize that they have known each other for a long time and, after leaving OpenAI, frequently consulted investors and entrepreneurs on new technologies in the field of artificial intelligence. Over time, they decided to create their own fund to support teams that they believe can develop products that meet market needs. One of the founders highlighted that they possess a clear understanding of the industry's development directions and access to strong developers.
After negotiations with institutional investors and family offices, the fund's team managed to raise its first $20 million and set an ambitious goal of reaching a fund size of $100 million. Part of this capital has already been invested in promising startups.
Among the fund's initial investments is Worktrace AI, a startup founded by former OpenAI product manager Angela Zhang. This company is developing software that helps businesses identify which processes can be automated and then automates them. The fund has also invested in Foundry Robotics, which is working on developing robots for manufacturing using artificial intelligence technologies. Another project has received funding, but details about it have not yet been disclosed.
The fund's founders note that they are consciously avoiding investments in certain areas. For example, they are skeptical about most services related to so-called vibe-coding, as they believe that model developers will quickly render such platforms less relevant. Furthermore, they are not rushing to invest in startups involved in creating data for training robots or projects with digital twins, as they consider their prospects to be currently uncertain.
The fund's operations also involve advisors, including former OpenAI executives Dayana Yoon, Steve Doling, and Luke Miller. They will receive a share of the fund's profits for their advisory support. Thus, the Zero Shot fund has every chance of becoming an important player in the venture investment market in the field of artificial intelligence, relying on the experience and knowledge of its founders.