OpenAI Startup Fund Secures Extra $5 Million

OpenAI Startup Fund Secures Extra $5 Million

An additional $5 million has closed for the OpenAI Startup Fund, a venture fund that backs early-stage AI businesses and recently saw Sam Altman relinquish legal control to Ian Hathaway, per a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Two investors contributed the additional cash, which were deposited into OpenAI Startup Fund SPV III, L.P., a legal company connected to the OpenAI Startup Fund.

The OpenAI Startup Fund has raised an SPV three times now. According to TechCrunch at the time, the investment unit closed on $15 million for its second SPV last month. In February, the firm raised $10 million for its first SPV.

According to another SEC document, the firm held $325 million in gross net asset value earlier this year and had $175 million in commitments last year.

The OpenAI Startup Fund raises funds from external limited partners, such as Microsoft, which is a close partner and investor in OpenAI, even though it operates as a corporate venture capital entity.

PitchBook data shows that at least 16 other firms have received funding from the Startup Fund. These consist of Figure AI, a humanoid robots company, Harvey, and Ambiance Healthcare. Additionally, the fund supported Ghost Autonomy, an autonomous vehicle startup that closed its doors last month.