OpenAI and Microsoft Are Partners, Until They Vie for the Same Customers Read More

Photo of Sam Altman by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.
Jan. 30, 2023 11:17 AM PST

OpenAI has proven itself to be a prolific fundraiser, collecting billions of dollars from Microsoft and others to perfect its artificial intelligence software. Lately, it’s also been flexing its muscles as an investor in other AI startups, a strategy that could tie a generation of young companies to its machine-learning models and Microsoft’s cloud services.

San Francisco–based OpenAI has invested in at least 16 companies through a $100 million fund backed by Microsoft and other investors that launched in May 2021, according to The Information’s reporting. Just in the past month, OpenAI launched an accelerator, Converge, that has already invested in 10 companies. (See the chart below of OpenAI’s investments.)

Get access to exclusive coverage
Read deeply reported stories from the largest newsroom in tech.
Latest Articles
 
Creator Economy startups entertainment
A Startup Wants to Help Creators Network and Hire
Brian Freeman, CEO and founder of Creatorland. Art by Shane Burke.
Creators need to mingle. To market themselves and their work, they need to constantly connect with their peers, professionals supporting creators and advertisers. But traditional networking and recruiting  sites such as LinkedIn and Fiverr can come up short for creators, especially when it comes to finding industry-specific opportunities and showcasing their visual content.Brian Freeman...
Latest Briefs
 
Kraken To Suspend ACH Transfers
Coinbase Says it Received Wells Notice from SEC
Virgin Orbit Nears $200 Million Funding Deal
Stay in the know
Receive a summary of the day's top tech news—distilled into one email.
Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Sarah Nagy gives a demo of her startup, Seek.ai, at an AI event at the San Francisco Wine Society in January. Photography by Laura Morton
First Look startups ai
Boom Times in San Francisco’s AI Underground
Not even a banking crisis could chill the fever sweeping San Francisco. Last Wednesday, as the tech industry recoiled from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, a party was scheduled at the offices of Maverick Ventures in an old army hospital in the Presidio.
Cover art and portraits by Clark Miller
The Big Read
The Instant Oral History of the Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
On a cosmic level, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank was a mere blip. The murmurs about trouble began last Wednesday, the panic spread via group texts and Twitter threads on Thursday, the bank went under on Friday, the government got its act together on Saturday, and on Sunday every current and former customer of SVB could breathe a cautious sigh of relief.
Art by Clark Miller.
Opinion startups economy
SVB Is Dead. Long Live SVB.
We all know how it began. It started on March 9, when the run on Silicon Valley Bank made the innovation economy totter and threatened a global financial crisis.
Clockwise from top left: Julie Bornstein, Esther Crawford, Mark Hammond, Max Cutler, Kağan Sümer. Photos via Julie Bernstein, Robert Cowherd, Microsoft, Wikimedia and Kağan Sümer.
Free Agents startups
On the Market: The Founders Who Joined Microsoft, Spotify, Coinbase and Twitter
Call them acqui-fires. Several founders who took positions at the bigger tech companies that bought their startups recently lost their jobs when layoffs rolled through Silicon Valley.
A pedestrian passes a Silicon Valley Bank branch in San Francisco, on Monday, March 13, 2023. Photo by AP.
Exclusive startups venture capital
SVB’s $9.5 Billion Venture Unit Included Large Investments in Andreessen, Sequoia, Documents Show
As potential buyers circle the remnants of Silicon Valley Bank and its affiliates, one asset could be particularly appealing: the company’s venture capital arm.
Tonal’s now-shuttered Palo Alto, Calif. retail store. Photo by Getty.
Exclusive startups
Tonal’s Valuation May Fall 90% in ‘Cram-Down’ Financing
Tonal, a fitness startup with a cadre of celebrity backers, is crunched for cash after failing to find a buyer.