🎯 The Big Picture
A new venture capital fund with deep ties to OpenAI has made its first close on its $100 million goal, the founders tell TechCrunch. The partners have already written a couple of checks. The fund is called Zero Shot (a play on the AI training term) and its co-founding team includes several OpenAI OGs who found themselves becoming VCs almost by serendipity. Three of the founding partners hail from OpenAI. Evan Morikawa, the former head of applied engineering during the launch of DALL·E and ChatGP
📖 What Happened
T through Codex, is now at robotics startup Generalist. Andrew Mayne, OpenAI’s original prompt engineer, is well-known as the host of The OpenAI podcast. Mayne also founded Interdimensional, an AI deployment consultancy. And Shawn Jain is an engineer and former researcher at OpenAI, who then became a VC and is a founder of his own GenAI startup, Synthefy. The alums are joined by VC Kelly Kovacs, previously a founding partner at 01A, the growth-stage venture firm founded by Dick Costello and Adam Bain. The fifth founding member of the fund is Brett Rounsaville, formerly of Twitter and Disney, who is also CEO at Mayne’s Interdimensional. The OpenAI alums have “been friends for years,” Mayne told TechCrunch, having worked together at the model maker from before it released ChatGPT through its
💰 By the Numbers
| 📊 Metric | 💡 Context |
|---|---|
| $100 million | A new venture capital fund with deep ties to OpenAI has made its first close on ... |
| $20 million | A new venture capital fund with deep ties to OpenAI has made its first close on ... |
| $10 million | A new venture capital fund with deep ties to OpenAI has made its first close on ... |
🎤 Highlights
• The OpenAI alums have “been friends for years,” Mayne told TechCrunch, having worked together at the model maker from be
• Evan Morikawa, the former head of applied engineering during the launch of DALL·E and ChatGPT through Codex, is now at r
• Andrew Mayne, OpenAI’s original prompt engineer, is well-known as the host of The OpenAI podcast.
• Mayne also founded Interdimensional, an AI deployment consultancy.
🚀 Why It Matters
This development represents a significant moment in the AI landscape. As the technology continues to evolve rapidly, such advancements shape how organizations approach innovation, competitive strategy, and digital transformation.
⚡ The Bottom Line
OpenAI alums have been quietly investing from a new, potentially $100M fund — a notable development highlighting AI's continued momentum and growing impact across industries.
📰 Source: TechCrunch 🔗