A new venture capital fund with deep roots in OpenAI’s early days is taking shape. According to an exclusive report from TechCrunch, the Zero Shot fund has completed its first close toward a $100 million target. The founding team, which includes several former OpenAI engineers and leaders, has already begun deploying capital. This move signals a growing trend of AI builders transitioning into investors, betting their insider knowledge can spot winning technologies others might miss.
The Zero Shot Fund’s Founding Team
The fund’s name is a technical nod to “zero-shot learning,” an AI training method. Its strength lies in its partners’ hands-on experience. Three founders are OpenAI veterans. Evan Morikawa led applied engineering during the launches of DALL·E, ChatGPT, and Codex. Andrew Mayne was OpenAI’s original prompt engineer and hosted its official podcast. Shawn Jain was an engineer and researcher at the company before founding his own generative AI startup.
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They are joined by venture capitalist Kelly Kovacs, a former founding partner at the growth-stage firm 01A, and Brett Rounsaville, whose background includes roles at Twitter and Disney. This blend of technical AI expertise and traditional venture capital experience is intentional. Data from PitchBook shows a surge in specialist funds launched by former operators, particularly in deep tech sectors.
From Builders to Backers
The fund’s origin story is one of organic evolution. The OpenAI alums maintained close ties after leaving the company. They found themselves in constant demand. Venture firms sought their consultation on emerging AI trends. Founder friends asked for technical advice. This consistent pull led Mayne to start Interdimensional, an AI deployment consultancy.
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“Some of our friends were coming out of OpenAI and interested in doing companies,” Mayne told TechCrunch. The group identified what they saw as a market mismatch. Many AI startups were getting funded, but not all addressed genuine market needs. “Maybe we should do our own fund, because we think we have a pretty good sense of where things are headed, and we have this great access to people who we think are incredible builders,” Mayne said.
After securing an initial $20 million from institutions and family offices, they formalized the Zero Shot fund with a $100 million goal.
The Investment Thesis: Applied AI and Automation
Zero Shot has already written its first checks, revealing an early focus on applied AI and robotics. The fund backed Worktrace AI, founded by early OpenAI product manager Angela Jiang. The startup is building AI software to help enterprises discover and automate repetitive tasks. Worktrace AI’s $10 million seed round also included investment from OpenAI’s own fund and Mira Murati.
A second investment went to Foundry Robotics, a company developing AI-enhanced factory robots. It recently raised a $13.5 million seed round led by Khosla Ventures. A third, undisclosed startup is also in the portfolio. This suggests a strategy favoring startups that move AI from pure research into tangible business processes and physical systems.
The AI Bets They Are Avoiding
Perhaps more telling than their investments are the sectors the founders are skeptical about. Their technical backgrounds inform what they won’t fund. Andrew Mayne expressed doubt about many “vibe coding” platforms. He believes large model makers with inherent coding expertise will quickly make standalone subscription services for code generation less necessary.
Evan Morikawa, with his robotics knowledge, is cautious about startups focused solely on “embodiment training data” for robots. These companies collect video data to teach robots how to interact with the physical world. “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,” Morikawa told TechCrunch. “That’s nowhere near possible.”
Mayne is similarly unconvinced by many “digital twin” startups. After conducting technical due diligence, he concluded that current large language models often perform the core tasks just as effectively. “There is a real skill in knowing how to predict where these models will be going next, because it’s extremely not obvious. It’s not linear,” Morikawa added. This selective skepticism could give Zero Shot an edge in avoiding crowded, overhyped niches.
Advisors and the Broader OpenAI Network
Beyond the founding partners, Zero Shot has enlisted a network of advisors who will share in the fund’s profits. The list includes Diane Yoon, OpenAI’s former head of people; Steve Dowling, former head of communications at OpenAI and Apple; and Luke Miller, a former OpenAI product leader. This extended network provides the fund with deep operational and strategic insights, strengthening its due diligence process.
The launch of Zero Shot reflects a larger movement within the AI ecosystem. As foundational model companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google mature, their early employees are dispersing. Many are becoming founders. Others, like the Zero Shot team, are becoming investors. Industry watchers note that this creates a new class of financiers who can evaluate technology at a granular level.
Conclusion
The Zero Shot fund represents a significant new player in AI venture capital. Its differentiation is clear: investment decisions driven by former builders who helped create the technology they now seek to fund. With its first close secured and initial investments made, the fund is actively shaping the next wave of AI companies. For founders, it offers capital paired with rare technical validation. For the market, it signals a maturing phase where applied, practical AI solutions may attract more discerning capital. The success of this OpenAI alumni fund will be a key test of whether operator-led venture firms can outperform generalist investors in the complex and fast-moving field of artificial intelligence.
FAQs
Q1: What is the Zero Shot fund?
The Zero Shot fund is a new venture capital firm founded by several OpenAI alumni and other partners. It is targeting a $100 million fund to invest in early-stage artificial intelligence and robotics startups.
Q2: Who are the founders of the Zero Shot fund?
The founding partners include former OpenAI engineers Evan Morikawa, Andrew Mayne, and Shawn Jain, joined by venture capitalist Kelly Kovacs and operations executive Brett Rounsaville.
Q3: What types of companies has Zero Shot invested in so far?
The fund’s disclosed investments include Worktrace AI, an enterprise automation platform, and Foundry Robotics, which builds AI-enhanced factory robots. A third investment is in a stealth-mode startup.
Q4: Why is the fund called “Zero Shot”?
The name references “zero-shot learning,” a machine learning technique where a model performs a task it wasn’t explicitly trained to do. It’s a technical term familiar within the AI community.
Q5: How does this fund differ from other AI-focused venture firms?
The key difference is the hands-on technical expertise of its founders. Having worked directly on products like ChatGPT and DALL·E, they aim to use that insider knowledge to identify promising technologies and avoid overhyped trends.
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