Sam Altman’s OpenAI has a startup fund that is investing $175 million in artificial-intelligence companies that have a “profound, positive impact on the world.”
“We’re a research and deployment company dedicated to making sure that AI is safe and benefits all of humanity,” Altman said in a video about the fund.
“We want to push the boundaries of what AI models can do and support really ambitious projects aimed at solving complex problems at the highest order.”
Newsweek reached out to OpenAI for comment but did not hear back.
The fund, which was founded in 2021, is managed by a team with investing, machine learning and engineering expertise. Investors include Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest backer, as well as other OpenAI partners.
OpenAI does not invest itself, according to the website.
“We’re looking to partner with early-stage startups in fields where artificial intelligence can have a transformative effect—like healthcare, law, education, energy & infrastructure, the sciences, and more—and where AI tools can empower people by helping them be more productive,” the fund’s website reads.
Altman, who gave his OpenAI partner Ian Hathaway control of the fund earlier this year, said he doesn’t see it supporting more than 10 companies.
In an introduction video, Altman said these “big early bets” on a “relatively small number” of ventures distinguishes the OpenAI Startup Fund from others.
“The OpenAI startup fund is a critical initiative in fostering innovation and accelerating the development of cutting-edge AI technologies,” Alon Yamin, cofounder and CEO of the AI-content detection service Copyleaks, told Techopedia.
“By providing financial support and resources to early-stage companies, OpenAI not only catalyzes technological advancements but also democratizes access to AI capabilities.”
Altman said in the introduction video that he and his company have been amazed with the ways people use ChatGPT. He listed examples of dialogue, summarizing documents, answering customer service questions and make search “better than ever before.” The fund is hoping to push those boundaries even further.
“We’re looking for startups in fields where AI can have the most profound, positive impact,” Altman said, listing healthcare, climate change and education as industries where AI has the most disruptive potential. “We’re also excited about markets where AI can drive big leaps in productivity, like personal assistants and semantic search.”
In 2022, the fund introduced Converge, a five-week startup accelerator for engineers, designers, researchers and product builders. Those who are chosen receive a $1 million equity investment.
Jason Redmond/Getty images
First Investments
The fund has invested so far in Descript, Mem, Speak, 1X, Kudo AI, Anysphere, Class Companion, Ghost Autonomy, Harvey, Ambience Healthcare, Figure AI, and Thrive AI Health. Those startups are working on AI applications for robotics, healthcare and law, among other sectors.
“We believe there is an enormous amount of value yet to be unlocked for the world with AI,” Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s COO and manager of the OpenAI Startup Fund said in a statement. “We’re proud to partner with the talented founders and teams at Descript, Harvey AI, Mem and Speak, as they’re building the tools that we believe will have a significant impact on everything from legal services to language learning, productivity, and creative expression.”
Descript
Descript is an audio-video editor that uses AI to transcribe and edit videos. The video edits are as simple as editing a text document.
Descript
“It’s clear from talking to customers that Descript is breaking down barriers between idea and creation and extending video editing capabilities to an entirely new class of creators,” Lightcap said.
In November 2022, OpenAI led a $50 million funding round for Descript.
Mem
Mem is an AI-powered note-taking app. The OpenAI Startup Fund called it the “world’s first self-organizing workspace.”
“Mem uses powerful AI to make knowledge workers more productive by removing the tedium and drudgery of organizing and accessing information, ultimately allowing people to focus on the parts of their work that matter,” Lightcap said.
In November 2022, OpenAI led a $23.5 million funding round for Mem.
Speak
Speak is a language-learning platform and AI tutor. It uses AI to help people learn English, with feedback on pronunciation and grammar. The tutor is able to have open-ended conversations with users on a number a topics.
The company initially launched in East Asia, focusing on South Korea.
“We are very excited to partner with the outstanding team at Speak, who are well-positioned to deliver on this powerful application of generative AI, making language learning effective and accessible,” Lightcap said. “Speak has the potential to revolutionize not just language learning, but education broadly.”
In November 2022, OpenAI led a $27 million funding round into Speak.
1X
1X is based in Norway. It is a company that is developing a bipedal humanoid robot known as NEO as well as a robot on wheels called EVE.
1X
The company is attempting to build humanoids at commercial scale in order to train the learning model and work alongside partners. NEO and EVE are expected to “get smarter” about how to inhabit the world.
In March 2023, OpenAI led a funding round for $23.5 million for 1X.
Kudo AI
Kudo AI offers a JavaScript library that is meant to help developers build AI-driven applications.
In September 2023, OpenAI contributed to $98,000 in grant funding with other partner vendors like Microsoft.
Anysphere
Anysphere is developing an AI-native software environment and human-AI programmer.
The company’s first product, Cursor, is an AI-powered integrated development environment that is meant to allow engineers’ to be more productive. The product autocompletes code and can write code from plain English as well.
In October 2023, OpenAI invested $8 million into Anysphere.
Class Companion
Class Companion is an AI-driven teaching assistant. It offers students feedback on assignments. The program supports a variety of subjects and grades while engaging students and saving teachers’ time.
In October 2023, OpenAI Startup Fund participated in a $4 million seed funding round for Class Companion.
Ghost Autonomy
Ghost Autonomy was an autonomous-driving software provider. The company shut down in August, becoming the fund’s first failed venture.
Ghost Autonomy
The company had been exploring how large language models could be implemented in self-driving settings.
In November 2023, OpenAI invested $5 million into Ghost Autonomy.
Harvey
Harvey is a generative AI platform for managing legal workflows. It automates tasks like research and analysis in order to help lawyers save time.
“We believe Harvey will have a transformative impact on our legal system, empowering lawyers to provide higher quality legal services more efficiently to more clients,” Lightcap said. “Harvey’s vision for how AI can increase access to legal services and improve outcomes fits squarely within our mission. We are excited to accelerate Gabriel, Winston, and the Harvey team in achieving this vision.”
In December of 2023, OpenAI contributed to a $80 million funding round for Harvey.
Ambience Healthcare
Ambience Healthcare offers generated clinical documentation in real-time, meant to reduce clinician burnout and improve system efficiency.
Kleiner Perkins and the OpenAI Startup Fund led a $70 million funding round in February of this year into Ambience Healthcare.
Figure AI
Figure AI is another startup developing an AI-powered humanoid robot. The robot is meant to support industries and create a “higher quality” of life. The goal is to deploy autonomous humanoid workers on a global scale to break “the limits of human achievement.” The first prototype is being tested on BMW’s assembly line in South Carolina.
In February, OpenAI participated in a $675 million funding round for Figure AI.
Thrive AI Health
Earlier this month, Altman and Arianna Huffington announced a new initiative that promises to use the power of AI to create a personalized health coach that will help people meet their fitness and behavioral health goals.
Thrive AI Health is a collaboration between OpenAI and Huffington’s Thrive Global. The startup will create a bot “trained on the personal biometric, lab, and other medical data you’ve chosen to share with it,” according to an essay penned by Altman and Huffington announcing the partnership.
The idea is to create a “hyper personalized” digital health coach that will provide “real-time nudges and recommendations unique to you.”
In July 2024, OpenAI and Thrive Global invested in Thrive AI Health.
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