An additional $5 million has closed for the OpenAI Startup Fund, a venture fund that backs early-stage AI businesses and recently saw Sam Altman relinquish legal control to Ian Hathaway, per a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Two investors contributed the new capital, which was moved into OpenAI Startup Fund SPV III, L.P., a legal entity connected to the OpenAI Startup Fund, as a special purpose vehicle.
The OpenAI Startup Fund has raised an SPV for the third time this year. Last month, TechCrunch reported that the investment unit had closed on $15 million for its second SPV. $10 million was raised by the fund in February for its first SPV.
According to another SEC document, the fund held $325 million in gross net asset value earlier this year and had $175 million in commitments last year.
The OpenAI Startup Fund raises funds from external limited partners, such as Microsoft, which is a close partner and investor in OpenAI, even though it operates as a corporate venture capital unit.
PitchBook data shows that at least 16 other startups have received funding from the Startup Fund. These include Figure AI, a humanoid robotics company, Harvey, and Ambiance Healthcare. Additionally, the fund supported Ghost Autonomy, an autonomous vehicle startup that closed its doors last month.
As of publication, OpenAI had not reacted to TechCrunch’s request for comment. If we receive a response, we’ll update this post.
Also Read:
Dubai: Emirates Group Reports a Dh18.7 Billion Record Profit, up 71% From the Previous Year
