A new venture fund called Zero Shot has emerged with close ties to former OpenAI insiders. The team has already secured its first funding milestone and is working toward a $100 million target. A few early investments are already in motion.
The fund was started by a group of former OpenAI employees who moved into venture capital almost by chance. Among them is Evan Morikawa, who led applied engineering during the early days of DALL·E and ChatGPT.
Andrew Mayne, known as one of OpenAI’s first prompt engineers, is also part of the team. He later launched an AI consultancy called Interdimensional. Another founding member, Shawn Jain, worked as a researcher at OpenAI before starting his own generative AI company.
They are joined by Kelly Kovacs, a former partner at venture firm 01A, and Brett Rounsaville, who has experience at both Twitter and Disney and now leads Interdimensional. The group shares a long history. Many of them worked together before ChatGPT became widely known, and they stayed connected even after moving on.
After leaving OpenAI, the founders noticed something interesting. Investors kept asking them for advice on AI startups, while founders reached out for guidance. Over time, this turned into a pattern. Instead of advising others, they decided to build their own fund and back companies directly.
Zero Shot has already supported a few early-stage startups. One of them is Worktrace AI, founded by former OpenAI product manager Angela Jiang. The company is building tools to help businesses identify and automate repetitive work. Another investment is Foundry Robotics, which focuses on AI-powered factory systems. A third startup is still operating quietly.
The team is selective about where it invests. Some trends do not convince them. For example, they are cautious about “vibe coding” tools and certain robotics data startups. They also question the value of many “digital twin” platforms, arguing that simpler AI models can often do the same job.
Beyond the core team, the fund has advisors with strong backgrounds, including former leaders from OpenAI and Apple. Together, they bring experience across product, hiring, and communications, giving the fund a broader edge as it grows.
