▼ Summary
– OpenAI’s valuation has reached $300 billion, prompting many employees to start their own tech companies.
– Notable startups include Anthropic, founded by Dario and Daniela Amodei, and John Schulman, valued at $61.5 billion.
– Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence has secured $2 billion in funding and is valued at $32 billion without a product.
– Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab is raising $2 billion with a minimum valuation of $10 billion, focusing on customizable AI.
– Other significant startups include Perplexity, xAI, Stem AI, Eureka Labs, Pilot, Adept AI Labs, Cresta, Covariant, Living Carbon, Prosper Robotics, Daedalus, and Kindo.
There’s a fresh wave of tech innovators emerging from OpenAI, the powerhouse behind ChatGPT. As OpenAI’s valuation soars to $300 billion, it’s no surprise that many of its employees are venturing out to launch their own startups. This surge of entrepreneurial spirit has given rise to numerous promising companies, spearheaded by former OpenAI talent.
The buzz surrounding OpenAI is so intense that startups like Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence and Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab have managed to secure substantial funding even before releasing a product.
Here’s a closer look at some of the most noteworthy startups founded by OpenAI alumni:
Dario Amodei, Daniela Amodei, and John Schulman — Anthropic
In 2021, siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei founded Anthropic, a San Francisco-based company dedicated to AI safety. They were later joined by OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in 2024. While OpenAI remains significantly larger in terms of revenue, Anthropic has emerged as a formidable competitor, valued at $61.5 billion as of March 2025.
Ilya Sutskever — Safe Superintelligence
After departing from OpenAI in May 2024, co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever established Safe Superintelligence (SSI). The startup, which aims to develop a “safe superintelligence,” has already attracted $2 billion in funding and is valued at $32 billion despite having no product or revenue yet. SSI operates from Palo Alto, California, and Tel Aviv, Israel.
Mira Murati — Thinking Machines Lab
Mira Murati left her role as OpenAI’s CTO in 2024 to launch Thinking Machines Lab. This San Francisco-based startup, which has yet to release a product, is focused on creating more “customizable” and “capable” AI. The company is currently raising a substantial $2 billion seed round, with a minimum valuation of $10 billion.
Aravind Srinivas — Perplexity
Aravind Srinivas, a former OpenAI research scientist, co-founded AI search engine Perplexity in 2022. Despite some controversy over its web scraping practices, Perplexity has drawn investments from high-profile figures like Jeff Bezos and Nvidia. The startup is in the process of raising $1 billion, aiming for an $18 billion valuation by March 2025.
Kyle Kosic — xAI
Kyle Kosic, who departed OpenAI in 2023, joined Elon Musk’s xAI as a co-founder and infrastructure lead. Although he briefly returned to OpenAI in 2024, xAI has been making waves, notably acquiring X (formerly Twitter) and achieving a combined valuation of $113 billion.
Emmett Shear — Stem AI
Former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear, who briefly served as OpenAI’s interim CEO, is now working on Stem AI. While details about this stealth startup remain scarce, it has already secured funding from Andreessen Horowitz.
Andrej Karpathy — Eureka Labs
AI expert Andrej Karpathy, known for his work at OpenAI and Tesla, founded Eureka Labs in 2024. The San Francisco-based edtech startup focuses on developing AI teaching assistants.
Jeff Arnold — Pilot
Jeff Arnold, who briefly led operations at OpenAI in 2016, co-founded the accounting startup Pilot in 2017. With significant investment from figures like Jeff Bezos, Pilot has grown substantially. Arnold later shifted his focus to launching a VC fund.
David Luan — Adept AI Labs
David Luan, OpenAI’s former engineering VP, co-founded Adept AI Labs in 2021. This startup, which creates AI tools for employees, raised $350 million at a valuation over $1 billion by 2023. Luan has since moved to Amazon to oversee its AI agents lab.
Tim Shi — Cresta
Tim Shi, who worked on safe AGI at OpenAI, founded the AI contact center startup Cresta in 2017. Cresta has raised over $270 million from major venture capital firms.
Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, and Rocky Duan — Covariant
This trio of former OpenAI researchers founded Covariant, which develops AI models for robots. In 2024, Amazon hired the founders and a significant portion of Covariant’s staff, signaling Big Tech’s interest in avoiding antitrust issues through strategic hires.
Maddie Hall — Living Carbon
Maddie Hall, who worked on special projects at OpenAI, co-founded Living Carbon in 2019. This startup aims to combat climate change by engineering plants that absorb more carbon. Living Carbon has raised $36 million to date.
Shariq Hashme — Prosper Robotics
Shariq Hashme, after a brief stint at OpenAI, co-founded Prosper Robotics in 2021. The London-based startup is developing home robot butlers, joining a competitive field alongside players like Norway’s 1X and Texas-based Apptronik.
Jonas Schneider — Daedalus
Jonas Schneider, former leader of OpenAI’s robotics software team, co-founded Daedalus in 2019. This startup focuses on creating advanced factories for precision components and has raised $21 million in its Series A round.
Margaret Jennings — Kindo
Margaret Jennings, who worked at OpenAI in 2022 and 2023, co-founded Kindo, an AI chatbot for enterprises. After raising over $27 million, Jennings transitioned to a role at French AI startup Mistral.
(Source: TechCrunch)
