OpenAI alums have been quietly investing from a new, potentially 0M fund
In a significant development within the venture capital landscape, a new fund named Zero Shot has emerged, backed by a group of former OpenAI employees. The fund aims to raise a total of $100 million and has already made its first close, indicating a promising start to its investment journey.
Founders of Zero Shot Fund
The founding team of Zero Shot comprises notable figures from OpenAI, who have transitioned into the venture capital space almost by chance. The key members include:
- Evan Morikawa: Former head of applied engineering at OpenAI, where he played a crucial role in the launch of DALL·E and ChatGPT.
- Andrew Mayne: OpenAI’s original prompt engineer and host of The OpenAI podcast, who also founded an AI deployment consultancy called Interdimensional.
- Shawn Jain: An engineer and former researcher at OpenAI, who has since become a venture capitalist and founded his own GenAI startup, Synthefy.
- Kelly Kovacs: A seasoned venture capitalist and former founding partner at 01A, a growth-stage venture firm.
- Brett Rounsaville: Formerly of Twitter and Disney, he is currently the CEO at Interdimensional.
The Motivation Behind Zero Shot
The founders of Zero Shot have been friends for years, having collaborated at OpenAI during its formative years. After their departure, they noticed a growing demand for consulting on emerging AI technologies from both venture capitalists and fellow entrepreneurs. This realization prompted Mayne to establish his consultancy, Interdimensional.
“Some of our friends were coming out of OpenAI and interested in starting companies,” Mayne shared, reflecting on the decision to create their own fund. “We thought we had a pretty good sense of where things are headed, and we have access to incredible builders.”
Investment Strategy and Initial Backing
Zero Shot has already made several investments, including backing early OpenAI product manager Angela Jiang and her startup Worktrace AI. This startup is focused on developing an AI-based management software platform designed to help enterprises automate tasks by identifying what should be automated. Worktrace AI successfully raised a $10 million seed round from notable investors, including Mira Murati and OpenAI’s Fund.
Another investment by Zero Shot includes Foundry Robotics, a startup dedicated to next-generation, AI-enhanced factory robotics, which recently secured a $13.5 million seed round led by Khosla Ventures. The fund has also invested in a third startup that remains in stealth mode.
Understanding the AI Landscape
The founders of Zero Shot believe that their deep understanding of AI technology gives them an edge in identifying promising startups to invest in while also recognizing which ideas to avoid. For example, Mayne has expressed skepticism towards many iterations of “vibe coding,” predicting that model makers will soon render subscriptions to such platforms unnecessary.
Morikawa, leveraging his expertise in AI and robotics, has voiced concerns about the current trend of “ergo-centric video data companies” in robotics. He believes that reliance on embodiment training data for robotics is misguided, stating, “There’s a lot of hoping and praying going on right now that someone in the research world will figure out how to transfer the embodiment gap, but that’s nowhere near possible.”
Mayne is also cautious about startups focusing on “digital twins.” After conducting due diligence on several such companies, he concluded that a regular large language model (LLM) performs just as well.
Advisory Board and Future Prospects
In addition to the investing founders, Zero Shot has attracted a group of advisors who are well-known in the AI community. These advisors, who will receive a share of the fund’s returns, include:
- Diane Yoon: Former head of people at OpenAI.
- Steve Dowling: Former head of communications at OpenAI and Apple.
- Luke Miller: Former product leader at OpenAI.
The combination of experienced founders and advisors positions Zero Shot to make informed investment decisions in the rapidly evolving AI sector.
Conclusion
The launch of Zero Shot by OpenAI alumni marks an exciting development in the venture capital space, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence. With a strong foundation of expertise and a clear vision for the future, the fund is poised to identify and support innovative startups that can shape the direction of AI technology.
Note: The information presented in this article is based on the latest developments as of April 2026 and may be subject to change.
