OpenAI Mafia: 15 Top Startups Founded by Former Employees
Wondering what startups have emerged from OpenAI alumni? The "OpenAI Mafia" refers to a growing network of ex-OpenAI employees who have launched some of the most influential AI startups shaping the future of technology. From billion-dollar unicorns like Anthropic and Perplexity to cutting-edge players like Safe Superintelligence and Thinking Machines Lab, these ventures highlight the immense impact OpenAI has had beyond ChatGPT. Discover the most notable startups founded by OpenAI veterans, their missions, and how they are driving innovation across AI, robotics, climate tech, and enterprise solutions.
Anthropic: Building Safer Artificial Intelligence
Founded by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, alongside John Schulman, Anthropic is a San Francisco-based AI safety company making headlines for its rapid rise. After departing OpenAI in 2021, the Amodeis focused on developing "safe AGI" (Artificial General Intelligence). Schulman, an OpenAI co-founder, joined them in 2024 to strengthen their vision. Despite OpenAI’s 2024 revenue towering at $3.7 billion compared to Anthropic’s $1 billion, Anthropic is now valued at an impressive $61.5 billion. Backed by tech giants and investors eyeing AI safety, Anthropic has firmly positioned itself as OpenAI’s biggest rival.
Safe Superintelligence: Ilya Sutskever’s Bold New Bet
Former OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever launched Safe Superintelligence (SSI) after his 2024 departure. Focused solely on building a "safe superintelligence," SSI is a mysterious Palo Alto and Tel Aviv-based startup that has raised $2 billion despite having no public product or revenue. With a valuation soaring to $32 billion, Sutskever’s venture is one of the most-watched startups in the AI safety landscape.
Thinking Machines Lab: Mira Murati’s Vision for Custom AI
OpenAI’s former CTO Mira Murati founded Thinking Machines Lab to push the boundaries of customizable and capable AI. Emerging from stealth in February 2025, this San Francisco-based company is already making waves, boasting top ex-OpenAI researchers and reportedly raising a $2 billion seed round at a $10 billion valuation. Although the product details remain under wraps, anticipation is sky-high in Silicon Valley.
Perplexity: Redefining AI Search Engines
Co-founded by former OpenAI research scientist Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity has reimagined the search experience using advanced AI. Backed by heavyweights like Jeff Bezos and Nvidia, the San Francisco-based startup has stirred controversy with alleged unethical web scraping practices. Still, it continues to attract major investments, raising $1 billion at an $18 billion valuation as of March 2025.
xAI: Elon Musk’s AI Empire
Kyle Kosic, an ex-OpenAI engineer, co-founded xAI, a Palo Alto startup now famous for its chatbot Grok. Although Kosic briefly returned to OpenAI, xAI captured headlines by acquiring X (formerly Twitter) in a massive all-stock deal valuing the company at $113 billion. The acquisition strengthens Elon Musk’s growing AI ecosystem.
Stem AI: Emmett Shear’s Mysterious Stealth Project
Former OpenAI interim CEO and Twitch founder Emmett Shear launched Stem AI in stealth mode. Details remain limited, but with backing from venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz, Stem AI is already considered one of the hottest stealth AI startups to watch in 2025.
Eureka Labs: Andrej Karpathy's AI for Education
Computer vision expert and YouTube AI educator Andrej Karpathy left OpenAI and later Tesla to found Eureka Labs in 2024. His San Francisco startup aims to revolutionize education with AI-powered teaching assistants, blending technology with personalized learning—a sector seeing skyrocketing demand amid AI’s education boom.
Pilot: Modernizing Startup Accounting
After a brief tenure as OpenAI’s head of operations, Jeff Arnold co-founded Pilot, a San Francisco-based accounting platform designed specifically for startups. With investors like Jeff Bezos backing it, Pilot grew rapidly, raising a $100 million Series C. Arnold eventually pivoted to venture capital but left behind a thriving enterprise fintech company.
Adept AI Labs: Smarter Tools for Workplaces
Former OpenAI engineering VP David Luan co-founded Adept AI Labs to create AI tools designed for employees rather than consumers. Despite raising $350 million and reaching a valuation north of $1 billion, Luan transitioned to Amazon in 2024, where he now leads AI agent innovation.
Cresta: AI-Powered Customer Service
Tim Shi, an early OpenAI member, left to establish Cresta, focusing on using AI to transform customer contact centers. With over $270 million in funding from Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, Cresta continues to lead the charge in enterprise AI solutions, particularly in the lucrative customer experience market.
Covariant: AI Robots for the Real World
Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, and Rocky Duan—all former OpenAI researchers—co-founded Covariant, a Berkeley startup building foundation AI models for robots. Their work caught Amazon’s eye, resulting in a 2024 quasi-acquisition of much of Covariant’s team, signaling Big Tech’s relentless push into robotics while sidestepping antitrust issues.
Living Carbon: Climate Solutions with Bioengineering
Maddie Hall, an ex-OpenAI special projects member, co-founded Living Carbon to fight climate change through genetically engineered plants. By enhancing carbon capture, Living Carbon has secured $36 million in total funding, tapping into the growing intersection of biotechnology and sustainability.
Prosper Robotics: Your Future Robot Butler
Former OpenAI engineer Shariq Hashme co-founded Prosper Robotics to develop a domestic robot butler—a dream that’s rapidly moving from science fiction to reality. Based in London, Prosper Robotics is part of a booming home robotics sector valued at billions.
Daedalus: Reinventing Manufacturing with AI
Jonas Schneider, who led OpenAI’s robotics software engineering team, launched Daedalus, a startup that uses AI to build advanced factories for precision manufacturing. With $21 million in Series A funding, Daedalus stands at the forefront of AI-driven industrial innovation.
Kindo: Enterprise AI Chatbots
Margaret Jennings, after a stint at OpenAI, co-founded Kindo to bring AI chatbot solutions to large enterprises. Having raised over $27 million, Kindo plays in the increasingly competitive AI enterprise software market. Jennings later moved to French AI powerhouse Mistral, highlighting her ongoing influence in shaping AI’s global future.
OpenAI's Legacy Extends Beyond ChatGPT
The OpenAI Mafia is redefining artificial intelligence across multiple industries—robotics, search engines, enterprise software, education, and climate tech. These 15 startups, launched by former OpenAI employees, showcase not just the depth of OpenAI’s talent bench but also the massive economic and technological ripple effects of its influence. Whether investing, partnering, or simply following AI’s rapid evolution, these companies are essential to watch.
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