Aliisa Rosenthal Transitions from OpenAI to Acrew Capital, Bringing AI Expertise to Venture Capital
Aliisa Rosenthal, formerly the head of sales at OpenAI, has embarked on a new journey in the venture capital sector by joining Acrew Capital as a general partner. In this role, she collaborates with founding partner Lauren Kolodny and other team members to identify and support promising startups.
During her three-year tenure at OpenAI, Rosenthal played a pivotal role in scaling the enterprise sales team from a modest duo to a robust group of hundreds. This period was marked by the successful launches of groundbreaking products such as DALL·E, ChatGPT, ChatGPT Enterprise, and Sora. Reflecting on her transition, Rosenthal shared, I wasn’t initially looking to join a VC fund. I was out there meeting with lots of AI startups. However, the prospect of influencing multiple startups’ go-to-market strategies, rather than focusing on just one, drew her to venture capital.
Rosenthal’s experience at OpenAI provided her with deep insights into buyer behaviors and the disparities between organizational expectations and actual deployment capabilities. She observed a significant gap between what organizations perceive as possible with AI and what they can realistically implement.
Addressing concerns about OpenAI’s expansive reach potentially overshadowing smaller AI enterprises, Rosenthal expressed confidence in the viability of specialized startups. She noted that while OpenAI is involved in various sectors—including consumer products, enterprise solutions, and hardware development—it is unlikely to pursue every potential enterprise application. This leaves room for startups that offer specialized AI solutions tailored to specific industry needs.
One of the key strategies Rosenthal identifies for startups to establish a competitive edge, or moat, is through specialization. By focusing on niche markets and delivering tailored solutions, startups can differentiate themselves from larger, more generalized AI providers.
Another critical factor she highlights is the management of context within AI systems. Context refers to the information an AI system retains and utilizes during its operations. Rosenthal emphasizes that context is dynamic, adaptable, and scalable. She points to the evolution from basic Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) methods to the development of persistent context graphs as a significant advancement. These context graphs enable AI systems to maintain and utilize a more comprehensive and enduring understanding of information, enhancing their performance and reliability.
Despite these advancements, Rosenthal acknowledges that there is still substantial technological development needed in areas such as memory and reasoning beyond mere pattern recognition. She anticipates significant innovation in the realm of context and memory within AI systems in the near future.
Beyond startups focusing directly on context engineering, Rosenthal believes that enterprise applications incorporating sophisticated context management will gain a substantial advantage. She asserts that ownership and effective management of the context layer will become a significant competitive edge for AI products.
Rosenthal also sees opportunities for startups that develop more cost-effective, lightweight AI models. These models may not top benchmark leaderboards but can still provide valuable and affordable solutions for various applications. She is particularly interested in investing in the application layer of AI, seeking startups that offer innovative use cases or enhance enterprise employee efficiency through AI integration.
To identify promising startups, Rosenthal plans to leverage her extensive network of OpenAI alumni. As OpenAI approaches its tenth anniversary, its alumni network has expanded significantly, with many former employees founding successful startups that have attracted substantial funding and high valuations.
This trend of OpenAI alumni transitioning into venture capital is gaining momentum. For instance, Peter Deng, OpenAI’s former head of consumer products, joined Felicis Ventures about a year ago and has since been involved in significant deals for emerging startups. Rosenthal consulted with Deng during her decision-making process, finding his insights instrumental in her choice to enter the venture capital arena.
Rosenthal’s unique advantage lies in her deep connections with AI enterprise users—the very buyers and beta testers that early-stage AI startups need. She observes a considerable gap between what enterprises believe AI can achieve and what is currently deployable, presenting a vast opportunity for applications and companies to bridge this divide.
In summary, Aliisa Rosenthal’s transition from OpenAI to Acrew Capital signifies a strategic move to leverage her extensive AI experience in the venture capital domain. Her focus on specialization, context management, and cost-effective AI models positions her to identify and support startups poised to make significant impacts in the AI industry.
