OpenAI Startup Fund: A Leader in Fostering AI-Powered Startups
Overview
Since its founding in 2021, the OpenAI Startup Fund has raised a total of $175 million for its main fund and secured an additional $114 million through five separate special purpose vehicles, which are investment pools for specific opportunities. Unlike many sizable tech companies, OpenAI does not use its own money to invest in startups. Instead, the OpenAI Startup Fund is raised from outside investors, including significant OpenAI backer Microsoft and "other OpenAI partners," according to the fund’s website.
Portfolio Companies
The OpenAI Startup Fund, managed by a dedicated team, has invested in over a dozen startups, according to data providers PitchBook and Crunchbase and TechCrunch’s research. The following companies, organized alphabetically, have announced investments from the fund:
1X
1X, a Norwegian humanoid robot startup, raised $23.5 million in a deal led by the OpenAI Startup Fund and Tiger Global in early 2023. However, OpenAI’s fund wasn’t named as a participant in the company when it announced its $100 million Series B in January.
Ambience Healthcare
Ambience Healthcare, an AI-powered medical note-taking startup, announced a $70 million Series B in February 2024, co-led by OpenAI’s fund and Kleiner Perkins. Ambience is among a number of startups, including Abridge, Nabla, Suki, and Microsoft-owned Nuance, that are building AI medical scribes.
Anysphere (aka Cursor)
In October 2023, OpenAI’s fund led the $8 million seed round into Anysphere, the maker of AI-powered coding assistant Cursor. OpenAI hasn’t been named as an investor in the company’s subsequent rounds.
Chai Discovery
Chai Discovery, a startup developing an open-source AI foundational model for drug discovery, raised a $30 million seed round led by Thrive Capital and OpenAI’s fund last September. The deal valued the 6-month-old Chai Discovery at $150 million.
Class Companion
Class Companion, an edtech startup, raised a $4 million seed round in 2023 from OpenAI’s fund and a host of angels. It helps teachers provide quick, personalized feedback to their students.
Descript
Descript, the collaborative audio and video editing platform, raised $50 million in a Series C round led by OpenAI’s fund shortly after ChatGPT was introduced to the world in late 2022. Other investors in the round included Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint Ventures, Spark Capital, and ex-Y Combinator partner Daniel Gross. Descript hasn’t reported any other capital raises since its Series C.
Figure AI
Figure AI, an AI robotics startup, raised a $675 million Series B in February 2024 from Nvidia, OpenAI’s fund, Microsoft, and others. The round valued the company at $2.6 billion. Figure AI is now reportedly in talks to raise $1.5 billion at a $39.5 billion valuation.
Ghost Autonomy
Ghost Autonomy, a maker of autonomous driving software, raised a $55 million Series E in April 2023, and OpenAI’s fund invested $5 million of that, according to PitchBook data. However, the investment didn’t work out. A year later the company shut down.
Harvey AI
Harvey AI, a legal tech startup, raised a $21 million Series A in April 2023 from OpenAI’s fund and others. The fund also participated in three subsequent rounds, including last month’s $300 million Series D, which valued Harvey at $3 billion.
Heeyo
Heeyo, an educational AI chatbot for kids, announced that it raised $3.5 million from OpenAI’s fund, Alexa Fund, Pear VC, and other investors in August.
Kick
Kick, a company developing AI agents that it says can "self-drive" bookkeeping processes, raised a $9 million seed round co-led by General Catalyst and OpenAI’s fund in October.
Mem
Mem, an AI-powered note-taking startup, raised a $23.5 million Series A round in November 2022, led by OpenAI’s fund. Mem hasn’t reported any subsequent funding rounds.
Milo
Milo, a startup developing an AI-powered personal assistant that helps parents organize and keep track of their kids’ activities, raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed and seed funding from OpenAI’s fund, YC, and others.
Physical Intelligence
Physical Intelligence, foundational software for robots, raised a $70 million seed round last March. OpenAI’s fund was part of that and also participated in the company’s $400 million Series A that valued the company at more than $2 billion. Other investors in the latest round included Lux Capital, Sequoia, and Jeff Bezos.
Speak
Speak, an AI-powered language learning app developer, raised a $27 million Series B round in November 2022, led by OpenAI’s fund. In December, the fund participated in Speak’s $78 million Series C, which valued the company at $1 billion.
Thrive AI
Thrive AI, an "AI health coach" startup, aimed to raise $10 million, according to a regulatory filing. Last July, Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and OpenAI Startup Fund announced they were teaming up on investing and building this startup.
Unify
Unify, a sales technology startup, secured about $19 million in seed and Series A capital from the OpenAI Startup Fund, Thrive Capital, and Emergence.
Conclusion
The OpenAI Startup Fund has made significant investments in over a dozen startups, with a focus on AI-powered companies. The fund’s portfolio includes companies working on various AI-related applications, from medical note-taking to language learning and sales technology.
FAQs
Q: What is the OpenAI Startup Fund?
A: The OpenAI Startup Fund is a venture capital fund that invests in AI-powered startups.
Q: Who are the partners in the OpenAI Startup Fund?
A: The partners in the OpenAI Startup Fund include significant OpenAI backer Microsoft and "other OpenAI partners," according to the fund’s website.
Q: How much has the OpenAI Startup Fund raised?
A: The OpenAI Startup Fund has raised a total of $175 million for its main fund and secured an additional $114 million through five separate special purpose vehicles.
