The OpenAI Startup Fund, a venture fund related to — but technically separate from — OpenAI that invests in early-stage companies typically related to artificial intelligence in education, law and science, has quietly closed a $15 million round.
According to a archiving with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, two unnamed investors contributed the $15 million in new cash on or about April 19. The paper was submitted on April 25 and mentions Ian Hathaway, director and sole partner of the OpenAI Startup Fund.
The capital was transferred to a legal entity called a special purpose vehicle, or SPV, associated with the OpenAI Startup Fund: OpenAI Startup Fund SPV II, LP
SPVs allow multiple investors to pool their resources and make an investment in a single company or fund. In the VC sector, they are sometimes used to invest in startups that don’t fit a fund’s strategy or that don’t fall under a fund’s terms. SPVs can also be marketed to a wider range of non-institutional investors.
This is the second time OpenAI Startup Fund has raised funds through SPV — the first time being in February for a $10 million tranche.
The OpenAI Startup Fund, whose portfolio companies include legal tech startup Harvey, Ambiance Healthcare and humanoid robotics company Figure AI, came under scrutiny last year after it was revealed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had long legally controlled the fund . While marketed as a typical venture arm, Altman raised capital for the OpenAI Startup Fund from outside limited partners, including Microsoft (a close OpenAI partner and investor), and had final say on the fund’s investments .
Neither OpenAI nor Altman had—and do not have—a financial interest in the OpenAI Startup Fund. However, critics 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 of the OpenAI Startup Fund to Hathaway, previously an investor in VC firm Haystack, which had played a key role in managing the Startup Fund since 2021.
As of last year, the OpenAI Startup Fund — whose ventures also include an incubator program called Converge — had $175 million in commitments and held $325 million in gross net asset value. He has backed more than a dozen startups, including Descript, a collaborative media editing platform valued at $553 million last year. language learning app Speak? AI note taking app Mem. and Anysphere IDE platform.
OpenAI had not responded to TechCrunch’s request for comment by the time of publication. We will update this post if we have any news.
