Zero Shot Fund enters the AI venture capital space with OpenAI alumni backing early-stage startups.
A new venture capital fund with deep roots in OpenAI is quietly entering the artificial intelligence investment landscape, and despite its relatively low profile, it is already attracting attention among founders and investors alike. Known as Zero Shot, the fund has completed its first close toward a $100 million target and has begun deploying capital into early-stage AI startups.
What makes this fund particularly compelling is not just its timing, but the unique insider perspective its founders bring from their experience building and scaling some of the most influential AI systems in the world.
Founders With Deep Technical and Strategic Expertise
The credibility of Zero Shot begins with its founding team, which includes several early contributors to OpenAI. These individuals were involved during critical phases of product development and growth, giving them a rare understanding of both the technical and commercial trajectories of AI.
Evan Morikawa played a key role in applied engineering efforts tied to major launches such as DALL·E and ChatGPT, which itself evolved from earlier systems like Codex. His transition into robotics through Generalist reflects the broader industry shift toward physical AI systems.
Andrew Mayne, another founding partner, was among the earliest prompt engineers at OpenAI and has since built a strong presence as a communicator and entrepreneur. Through The OpenAI Podcast and his company Interdimensional, Mayne has remained closely connected to both the technical and business sides of AI deployment.
Shawn Jain adds further depth with his experience as both a researcher and founder of Synthefy, bringing a builder’s mindset to investment decisions. Completing the founding team are Kelly Kovacs, previously of 01A, and Brett Rounsaville, whose background includes leadership roles at Twitter and The Walt Disney Company. Together, the team represents a convergence of deep technical knowledge, product intuition, and venture capital experience.
From Informal Advising to a Formal Fund
The creation of Zero Shot was less about launching a traditional venture capital firm and more about formalizing an activity the founders were already deeply engaged in. After leaving OpenAI, they found themselves in high demand as advisors, both from venture capital firms trying to understand AI trends and from founders building AI startups.
Over time, this advisory work revealed a disconnect between the types of startups receiving funding and the actual needs of the market. Many companies were being backed based on hype cycles or surface-level interpretations of AI capabilities, rather than a grounded understanding of how the technology evolves.
This insight prompted the founders to take a more active role. By launching their own fund, they could not only identify promising opportunities but also support founders with hands-on guidance rooted in real-world experience.
Early Investments Signal Strategic Focus
Zero Shot has already begun writing checks, and its early investments provide insight into its strategy. One of its first bets is on Worktrace AI, founded by Angela Jiang, a former product manager at OpenAI. The company is building an AI-driven management platform designed to help enterprises identify and automate workflows.
This approach reflects a practical application of AI, focusing not just on building models but on integrating them into business processes. Worktrace AI has already raised a $10 million seed round with backing from prominent figures, including Mira Murati and OpenAI’s own investment arm.
Another investment, Foundry Robotics, highlights the fund’s interest in the intersection of AI and physical systems. The company is working on next-generation robotics for industrial environments, a sector that many believe will be transformed by advances in machine learning. A third investment remains in stealth, underscoring the fund’s access to early-stage opportunities that are not yet visible to the broader market.
A Contrarian View on AI Trends
One of the defining characteristics of Zero Shot is its willingness to challenge prevailing narratives in the AI ecosystem. The founders are not simply following trends; they are actively identifying areas where they believe the market is overestimating potential.
For example, Andrew Mayne has expressed skepticism about the long-term viability of many “vibe coding” platforms. His view is that as foundational model providers continue to improve their own coding capabilities, standalone tools in this category may struggle to justify subscription costs.
Similarly, Evan Morikawa has raised concerns about the surge of startups focused on robotics training data, particularly those relying on video-based approaches. He argues that the underlying technical challenges, such as bridging the embodiment gap, remain unresolved and may limit the effectiveness of these solutions in the near term.
The team is also cautious about the hype surrounding digital twins, suggesting that in many cases, existing large language models can achieve similar outcomes without the added complexity.
Understanding the Non-Linear Nature of AI
A key advantage for Zero Shot lies in the founders’ understanding of how quickly and unpredictably AI capabilities can evolve. Unlike traditional industries, where progress tends to follow a more linear path, AI development often involves sudden breakthroughs that can render entire categories of startups obsolete.
This non-linear progression makes investment decisions particularly challenging. What appears to be a promising niche today may disappear tomorrow as foundational models improve. Conversely, areas that seem underdeveloped can rapidly become central to the ecosystem.
By leveraging their experience at OpenAI, the founders believe they are better positioned to anticipate these shifts. Their goal is not just to invest in what is working now, but to identify what will matter in the next phase of AI evolution.
The Role of Advisors and Network Effects
In addition to its founding team, Zero Shot benefits from a network of advisors with deep experience in technology and organizational scaling. These include Diane Yoon, former head of people at OpenAI; Steve Dowling, who previously led communications at both OpenAI and Apple; and Luke Miller, a former product leader at OpenAI.
These advisors are not just symbolic additions. They contribute to deal flow, provide operational guidance to portfolio companies, and share in the fund’s carried interest. This structure aligns incentives and strengthens the overall ecosystem around the fund.
A New Kind of AI Venture Capital
Zero Shot represents a broader shift in how venture capital is adapting to the AI era. Traditional VC models often rely on pattern recognition and market trends, but AI requires a deeper level of technical understanding.
Funds like Zero Shot are emerging as a new category of investor, combining insider knowledge with capital. Their advantage lies not just in identifying opportunities, but in understanding which opportunities are illusions.
This approach could prove particularly valuable as the AI market becomes increasingly crowded. With thousands of startups competing for attention, the ability to distinguish between signal and noise becomes a critical differentiator.
Conclusion: Zero Shot Fund
Although still in its early stages, Zero Shot has the ingredients to become a meaningful force in the AI investment landscape. Its founders bring rare experience from the front lines of AI development, its strategy reflects a nuanced understanding of the market, and its early investments suggest a focus on practical, high-impact applications.
As the fund moves toward its $100 million target and continues to deploy capital, it will serve as an interesting case study in how insider expertise can shape venture capital in emerging technologies. In a space defined by rapid change and intense competition, that perspective may prove to be its greatest advantage.
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