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TheOpenAI Startup Fund , a venture monetary fund colligate to — but technically separate from — OpenAI that gift in early - stage , typically AI - related companionship across education , law and the skill , has softly closed a $ 15 million tranche .
According to afilingwith the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission , two unnamed investor contributed the $ 15 million in novel cash on or around April 19 . The paperwork was submitted on April 25 , and mentions Ian Hathaway , the OpenAI Startup Fund ’s handler and sole spouse .
The capital was transferred to a legal entity called a particular function vehicle , or SPV , consociate with theOpenAI Startup Fund : OpenAI Startup Fund SPV II , L.P.
SPVs allow multiple investor to pool their resource and make an investment in a undivided company or fund . In the VC sector , they ’re sometimes used to induct in startups that do n’t correspond a store ’s strategy or that fall outside a investment trust ’s term . SPVs can also be marketed to a wider range of non - institutional investors .
It ’s the second such time the OpenAI Startup Fund has kick upstairs capital through an SPV — the first timebeingin February for a $ 10 million tranche .
The OpenAI Startup Fund , whose portfolio companies include legal tech startupHarvey , Ambiance Healthcareand humanoid robotics firmFigure AI , fare under examination last year after it was revealed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had long legally controlled the investment firm . While market like a stock corporate venture subdivision , Altman raise majuscule for the OpenAI Startup Fund from outside limited collaborator , include Microsoft ( a closelipped OpenAI partner and investor ) , and had the final say in the monetary fund ’s investment .
Neither OpenAI nor Altman had — or have — a fiscal interest in the OpenAI Startup Fund . But critics nonetheless argued that Altman ’s ownership amounted to a conflict of interest ; OpenAI lay claim that the general partner bodily structure was intend to be “ irregular . ”
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In April , Altmantransferred courtly controlof the OpenAI Startup Fund to Hathaway , previously an investor with the VC firm Haystack , who ’d played a key role in grapple the Startup Fund since 2021 .
As of last year , the OpenAI Startup Fund — whose venture also let in an incubator platform calledConverge — had $ 175 million in commitments and held $ 325 million in thoroughgoing net plus value . It has back well over a twelve inauguration , including Descript , a collaborative multimedia system editing platform value at $ 553 million last year ; linguistic communication learning appSpeak ; AI - power note - take appMem ; and IDE platformAnysphere .
OpenAI had n’t reply to TechCrunch ’s request for comment as of publication meter . We ’ll update this post if we find out back .
