OpenAI Alumni Launch $100 Million 'Zero Shot' Venture Fund
Former OpenAI engineers and leaders have launched Zero Shot, a $100 million venture fund targeting the next generation of AI and robotics startups.
A New Powerhouse Joins the Venture Landscape
A group of early OpenAI employees has launched Zero Shot, a venture capital fund designed to leverage their deep technical expertise in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence sector. Named after the AI training term "zero-shot learning," the fund has recently achieved its first close and is actively pursuing a $100 million target.
The founding team is comprised of "OpenAI OGs" who witnessed the company’s meteoric rise from its pre-ChatGPT days. The partners transitioned into venture capital after finding themselves frequently sought after by established VCs and founders for technical due diligence and strategic advice.
The Founding Roster
Zero Shot combines deep engineering experience with seasoned venture operations:
- Andrew Mayne: OpenAI’s original prompt engineer and host of The OpenAI podcast. He also founded the AI consultancy Interdimensional.
- Evan Morikawa: Former head of applied engineering at OpenAI, who oversaw the launches of DALL·E and ChatGPT. Currently at the robotics firm Generalist.
- Shawn Jain: An engineer and former researcher at OpenAI, and founder of the GenAI startup Synthefy.
- Kelly Kovacs: A veteran venture capitalist previously with 01A, the firm founded by Dick Costello and Adam Bain.
- Brett Rounsaville: Formerly of Twitter and Disney, and currently CEO of Interdimensional.
The fund also boasts a high-profile advisory board that includes Diane Yoon (OpenAI’s former head of people), Steve Dowling (former communications lead at Apple and OpenAI), and Luke Miller (former OpenAI product leader).
Named after the AI training term "zero-shot learning," the fund has recently achieved its first close and is actively pursuing a $100 million target.
Early Portfolio and Investment Philosophy
Having already secured an initial $20 million of their goal, the partners have begun deploying capital. Their early bets focus on enterprise automation and advanced robotics:
- Worktrace AI: Founded by former OpenAI product manager Angela Jiang, this startup develops software to help enterprises identify and automate internal tasks.
- Foundry Robotics: A company focused on AI-enhanced factory automation, which recently closed a $13.5 million seed round.
- Stealth Startup: An undisclosed third investment is already in the portfolio.
Cutting Through the Hype
The Zero Shot team maintains that their insider knowledge allows them to see through market "vibes" and identify which technologies are likely to be cannibalized by future model updates.
The partners expressed skepticism toward several current trends. Andrew Mayne is bearish on "vibe coding" platforms and "digital twins," noting that native Large Language Models (LLMs) often perform these tasks just as effectively. Meanwhile, Evan Morikawa remains critical of "ergo-centric video data" companies in the robotics space, arguing that the "embodiment gap" between video data and physical robot control remains an unsolved research hurdle.
"There is a real skill in knowing how to predict where these models will be going next," Morikawa told TechCrunch. "It's not linear."
By focusing on the practical application of AI rather than speculative research gaps, Zero Shot aims to bridge the divide between what the market is currently funding and what enterprise builders actually require.
