A new wave of startups founded by alumni from OpenAI is emerging, dubbed the “OpenAI mafia.” Highlighted ventures include Anthropic, Safe Superintelligence, and Thinking Machines Lab, which are raising billions even before launching products. With varying focuses—from AI safety to climate technology—these startups show the potential for big impact in tech.
In what many are dubbing the “OpenAI mafia,” the tech landscape is buzzing with startups created by alumni of the AI giant. OpenAI, fresh off its rapid growth to a massive $300 billion valuation, has seen a wave of employees break away to forge their own paths, catalyzing a new generation of AI firms. Startups like Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence and Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab have raised startling sums, some of them in the billions, all without a single product on the market yet.
The OpenAI alumni narrative is painted with a variety of ambitious projects that promise a dose of technological innovation. With ventures from the AI search powerhouse Perplexity to the intriguing Living Carbon, which is engineering plants to absorb atmospheric carbon, the spectrum of imagination here is wild. Notably, Prosper Robotics hopes to introduce a robot butler into your home, proving that the flavors of AI can be very diverse.
One of the spotlight firms is Anthropic. Founded by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who departed OpenAI in 2021, this San Francisco-based venture focuses on AI safety. They’ve matured quickly, boasting a whopping valuation of $61.5 billion by March 2025. John Schulman, also originally from OpenAI, joined their ranks in 2024 to help achieve their aim of a “safe AGI.”
On a different path, Ilya Sutskever pulled a surprise exit from OpenAI in 2024 to co-create Safe Superintelligence, fueled by a singular vision of achieving a safe form of superintelligence. Despite its nebulous status—no product, no revenue—SSI has attracted $2 billion in investment, ballooning its valuation to about $32 billion. Based in Palo Alto and Tel Aviv, this company is making waves before even delivering anything tangible.
Then there’s Thinking Machines Lab, founded by the former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. Launched in early 2025, the company, like many others here, is still working on specifics regarding its product. However, it aims to develop an AI that’s not just capable but even customizable. Seed funding efforts suggest a minimum value of $10 billion already is in play.
Aravind Srinivas does the leap into the limelight with Perplexity, an AI search engine he co-founded after his exit from OpenAI. His company has caught the attention of big-name investors like Jeff Bezos, although it has found itself under scrutiny for its web scraping practices. Current fundraising efforts are targeting around $1 billion, with the valuation hitting $18 billion by March 2025.
Another interesting twist comes from Kyle Kosic, formerly of OpenAI, who co-founded xAI—the brainchild of Elon Musk. xAI recently took over X (once known as Twitter), leading to a combined valuation of $113 billion. The acquisition stirred the pot but seems promising for those betting on Musk’s broader tech ambitions.
Some notable exits include Emmett Shear, Twitch’s former CEO who briefly served as OpenAI’s interim CEO. His ongoing venture, Stem AI, is currently shrouded in secrecy but has already secured some backing from industry heavyweights like Andreessen Horowitz.
Andrej Karpathy, known for his AI teaching video series, founded Eureka Labs focused on education technologies after departing Tesla. He left OpenAI back in 2017, but after a return to the spotlight with his new venture, it appears his vision is still firmly rooted in the educational sector.
Several other exits add to this growing list. Jeff Arnold ran OpenAI’s operations briefly before co-founding Pilot—an accounting startup now valued at $1.2 billion. David Luan co-founded Adept AI Labs geared toward workplace efficiency after leaving OpenAI. Cresta, founded by Tim Shi, is working on AI for contact centers, spearheading a major funding race.
Lastly, we have Covariant, created by former OpenAI researchers, focused on advanced AI for robots. Living Carbon is trying to engineer climate-fighting plants, while Prosper Robotics aims for your home automation with its butler robot prototype. Following closely, Kindo, an AI chatbot for enterprises, also makes the cut, developing under the leadership of Margaret Jennings after her OpenAI stint.
The rise of the OpenAI alumni, dubbed the “OpenAI mafia,” marks a transformative moment in tech innovation. As these startups, with ambitious goals ranging from AI-driven search engines to climate-fighting solutions, emerge, they show that the departure from OpenAI is not just a step away but a leap toward creating powerful ventures. With impressive valuations and growing investor interest, these former OpenAI employees seem poised to redefine the AI landscape in significant ways.
Original Source: techcrunch.com