A group of former OpenAI employees have started their own $100 million investment fund called Zero Shot. The fund has already begun writing checks to startups, though the company is keeping quiet about which ones.
This marks a significant shift as some of the brightest minds who helped build ChatGPT are now betting on the next wave of AI companies. Zero Shot isn’t just another tech fund – these investors have inside knowledge of what actually works in AI and what doesn’t.
Following the OpenAI Playbook
The timing isn’t coincidental. As OpenAI has grown from a small research lab to a company worth over $80 billion, many early employees have cashed out and moved on. Now they’re using that money and expertise to find the next big AI breakthrough.
Zero Shot’s founders understand the AI landscape better than most traditional investors. They’ve seen which technologies have real potential and which are just hype. That insider perspective could give them a major advantage in picking winners.
The fund is targeting early-stage AI companies, particularly those working on practical applications rather than just research. Think AI tools for businesses, healthcare, and education – areas where the technology can solve real problems today.
What’s Next
Zero Shot plans to be fully funded within the next few months. For AI startups, this means another source of smart money from people who actually built the technology they’re trying to improve. For the broader tech world, it’s another sign that the AI boom is far from over – even the people who created it are betting big on what comes next.