OpenAI Veterans Launch Zero Shot Fund to Propel AI Startups
A group of former OpenAI employees has established Zero Shot, a venture capital fund aiming to raise $100 million to support emerging AI startups. The fund has already secured an initial $20 million and begun investing in promising companies.
Founding Team and Background
Zero Shot’s founding partners include:
– Evan Morikawa: Former head of applied engineering at OpenAI, instrumental in launching DALL·E and ChatGPT. Currently involved with robotics startup Generalist.
– Andrew Mayne: OpenAI’s original prompt engineer and host of The OpenAI podcast. Founder of AI deployment consultancy Interdimensional.
– Shawn Jain: Former OpenAI engineer and researcher, now a venture capitalist and founder of GenAI startup Synthefy.
– Kelly Kovacs: Previously a founding partner at 01A, a growth-stage venture firm established by Dick Costolo and Adam Bain.
– Brett Rounsaville: Formerly with Twitter and Disney, currently CEO at Interdimensional.
The partners, who have collaborated since OpenAI’s early days, transitioned into venture capital after frequently consulting for VCs and advising founder friends on AI technologies.
Investment Strategy and Initial Investments
Zero Shot focuses on identifying and supporting AI startups that address significant market needs. The fund has already invested in:
– Worktrace AI: Founded by former OpenAI product manager Angela Jiang, this startup is developing AI-based management software to help enterprises automate tasks by first identifying what should be automated. Worktrace AI raised a $10 million seed round with contributions from notable investors, including Mira Murati and OpenAI’s Fund.
– Foundry Robotics: A startup working on next-generation, AI-enhanced factory robotics. It recently secured a $13.5 million seed round led by Khosla Ventures.
– A Stealth Startup: Zero Shot has also invested in a third startup that remains in stealth mode.
Investment Philosophy and Market Insights
The partners leverage their deep understanding of AI to make informed investment decisions and avoid overhyped areas. For instance:
– Andrew Mayne is cautious about vibe coding platforms, anticipating that model makers will soon render such subscriptions unnecessary.
– Evan Morikawa is skeptical of ergo-centric video data companies in robotics, noting the current limitations in transferring embodiment training data effectively.
– Mayne also questions the efficacy of digital twins, suggesting that regular large language models (LLMs) can perform just as well.
Advisory Board
Zero Shot has enlisted advisors with notable experience:
– Diane Yoon: Former head of people at OpenAI.
– Steve Dowling: Former head of communications at OpenAI and Apple.
– Luke Miller: Former product leader at OpenAI.
These advisors will receive a share of the fund’s carried interest, aligning their success with the fund’s performance.
Conclusion
Zero Shot represents a strategic initiative by former OpenAI leaders to guide and invest in the next generation of AI startups. By combining their expertise with a focused investment approach, they aim to bridge the gap between emerging AI technologies and market demands, fostering innovation and addressing real-world challenges.
