A newly-established venture capital fund with strong connections to OpenAI, named Zero Shot, has successfully reached its initial fundraising milestone of $20 million towards a target of $100 million. The founding partners, who have previously worked extensively at OpenAI, are venturing into the world of venture capital, having been drawn into this endeavour almost by chance.
Zero Shot’s founding team features notable figures from OpenAI: Evan Morikawa, who was head of applied engineering during the development of DALL·E and ChatGPT; Andrew Mayne, the original prompt engineer who hosts The OpenAI Podcast and runs an AI consultancy, Interdimensional; and Shawn Jain, an engineer and researcher turned GenAI startup founder. Joining them is Kelly Kovacs, previously a founding partner at venture firm 01A, and Brett Rounsaville, formerly with Twitter and Disney.
The partners, who have nurtured friendships over many years at OpenAI, found themselves frequently consulted by venture capitalists and fellow founders for insights into emerging AI technologies. This prompted Mayne to establish his consultancy, paving the way for the creation of Zero Shot. Recognising gaps between AI startups and market needs, they decided to launch their own fund, believing they could offer valuable insights into the industry’s future direction.
Zero Shot has already made investments in promising startups, including Worktrace AI, an AI-driven management software platform founded by ex-OpenAI product manager Angela Jiang, which raised $10 million in seed funding. The fund also backed Foundry Robotics, which focuses on creating next-generation AI-enabled factory robotics, having raised $13.5 million recently.
The founders believe their background allows them to better assess AI startups and identify which ventures to avoid. For instance, Mayne expresses skepticism about certain trends, such as "vibe coding," asserting that deep learning methods will soon render such tools superfluous. Morikawa is critical of current robotics companies reliant on "ergo-centric video data," suggesting that the technological gaps they face are far from being resolved. Similarly, Mayne has researched "digital twins" and concluded that simpler versions of large language models could achieve the same objectives.
Furthermore, Zero Shot has enlisted several advisors with notable credentials, including Diane Yoon, Steve Dowling, and Luke Miller, to guide its investment strategy.
In summary, Zero Shot emerges as a significant player in the AI venture capital scene, leveraging its founders’ expertise and insights into the evolving landscapes of technology and investment. With its goal of fostering innovative AI startups, the fund is poised to influence the trajectory of AI development in the coming years.
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