OpenAI Startup FundOpenAI, a related – but technically separate – venture fund that invests in early-stage, AI-related companies typically in education, law and science, has quietly closed a $15 million tranche.
according to a filed Along with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, two unnamed investors contributed $15 million in new cash on or around April 19. The paperwork was submitted on April 25, and it mentions Ian Hathaway, the manager and sole partner of the OpenAI startup fund.
Capital transferred to a legal entity called a special purpose vehicle or SPV OpenAI Startup Fund: OpenAI Startup Fund SPV II, LP
SPVs allow multiple investors to pool their resources and invest in a single company or fund. In the VC sector, they are sometimes used to invest in startups that do not fit into a fund’s strategy or that fall outside the fund’s terms. SPVs can also be marketed to a wide range of non-institutional investors.
This is the second time OpenAI Startup Fund has raised capital through an SPV – the first being Creature for a $10 million tranche in February.
OpenAI Startup Fund, whose portfolio companies include legal tech startups harvey, Ambience Healthcare and humanoid robotics firms Figure A.I, came under scrutiny last year when it was revealed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had long controlled the fund legally. Marketed like a standard corporate venture arm, Altman raised capital for the OpenAI Startup Fund from outside limited partners, including Microsoft (a close OpenAI partner and investor), and played the final role in the fund’s investments.
Neither OpenAI nor Altman had – or have – any financial interest in the OpenAI Startup Fund. But critics still argued that Altman’s ownership amounted to a conflict of interest; OpenAI claimed that the general partner structure was intended to be “temporary”.
In April, Altman transferred formal control OpenAI Startup Fund’s Hathway, previously an investor in VC firm Haystack, has played a key role in managing the startup fund since 2021.
Like last year, the OpenAI Startup Fund – whose ventures also include an incubator program concentrate – Had $175 million in commitments and $325 million in gross net asset value, It has backed more than a dozen startups, including Descript, a collaborative multimedia editing platform, which was valued at $553 million last year; language learning app Speak, AI-powered note taking app Mam, and IDE platform anywhere,
OpenAI had not responded to TechCrunch’s request for comment by publishing time. We will update this post if we get any response.
openai-startup-fund-quietly-raises-15m-techcrunch
