Fundraising Fox
The OpenAI Mafia
116 people came through OpenAI and went on to found or lead other companies.
Reid HoffmanFormer board member (nonprofit board)Founded LinkedIn +3Sam AltmanFounderFounded Tools for Humanity +2Elon MuskFounderFounded PayPal +5Ilya SutskeverFounderFounded Safe SuperintelligenceAravind SrinivasResearch ScientistFounded PerplexityDario AmodeiVP of ResearchFounded AnthropicDaniela AmodeiVP of People, then VP of Safety and PolicyFounded AnthropicSean GroveMember of Technical StaffFounded Linzumi +2Brian BrunnerMember of Technical StaffFounded Cheddar +2Michael DAngeloMember of Technical StaffFounded Matroid +2Pieter AbbeelResearch ScientistFounded Gradescope +1Matt KrisiloffFounding Team MemberFounded Preventive +1Denise DresserChief Revenue Officer at OpenAIFounded Salesforce +1Colin EvansStartups & VC Partnerships, GTMFounded Gametime +1Sam TellerDirector, Office of the CEOFounded Tesla +1Tanooj LuthraMember of Technical StaffFounded Elph +1Charlie GuoDeveloper Experience EngineerFounded Crowdmade +1Abhijeet DwivediSpecial ProjectsFounded Central +1Josh WrightMember of Technical StaffFounded Apollo +1Daniel EdrisianMember of Technical StaffFounded Alex +1Kevin GuMember of Technical StaffFounded Thirdlayer +1Bret TaylorChairman of the BoardFounded Sierra +1Frank LiMember of Technical StaffFounded Amorphic Labs +1Maran NelsonAdvisorFounded Clara Labs +1Kumudha PuramInvestorFounded RideCommerce +1Trevor BlackwellFounderFounded Y CombinatorJonas SchneiderTech LeadFounded DaedalusCarolyn StarrettAdvisor, Life SciencesFounded Flatiron HealthDoug BemisMember of Research Program StaffFounded SyntractsAshley PilipiszynTechnical Director, Office of the CTOFounded BesxarStanley OnyimbaProduct PartnershipsFounded GoogleJeff ArnoldHead of OperationsFounded PilotBlake ByersInvestorFounded NewLimitMaddie HallSpecial ProjectsFounded Living CarbonTim ShiResearchFounded CrestaSarah FriarChief Financial OfficerFounded NextdoorGabor CselleMember of Strategy TeamFounded reMailBrian FiocaModel Design, Aplied Evals, StartupsFounded RescueTimeJason BoehmigGM, Legal IndustryFounded IroncladFouad MatinMember of Technical StaffFounded StrongIntroStefan StokicApplied AIFounded SlikKundan KumarMember of Technical StaffFounded Lyrebird.aiDane SchneiderMember of Technical StaffFounded EnvKeyCadran CowansageMember of Technical StaffFounded ElphaAndrew AmbrosinoMember of Technical StaffFounded CatchDavid FerrisMember of Technical StaffFounded PhonicJustin BleuelProductFounded AvenueBrad MurrayMember of Technical StaffFounded BeeperKulapradip BharaliAI Deployment EngineerFounded GobillionDrew KimMember of Technical StaffFounded PelmBrian BristolMember of Forward Deployed StaffFounded PigeonAmey ChauguleMember of Technical StaffFounded DenormalizedAndrew DubersteinMember of Technical StaffFounded MercatorCarly AllenCreative ProducerFounded AlmondBrent TrautSoftware EngineerFounded RainmakerYansen ZhouMember of Technical StaffFounded Hippo ScribeAnish AgrawalMember of Technical StaffFounded ChatterRohan MehtaMember of Technical StaffFounded ArcaneLucas SwitzerMember of Technical StaffFounded ArcaneBenjamin BolteEngineerFounded K-Scale LabsSam KramerForward Deployed Software EngineerFounded InvariaAnish TondwalkarMember of Technical StaffFounded d_modelDarren HwangMember of Technical StaffFounded Kura AIBill ChenResearch EngineerFounded RiskAngleCarter McClellanMember of Technical StaffFounded supercontrastAkul GuptaRed Team EngineerFounded MindFortZeyneb KayaStudent ResearcherFounded TopologicalSai MandhanApplied AIFounded RemedyCorentin HugotFounder in residenceFounded KinroChrist XuSoftware Engineering InternFounded RationalHursh ShahChatGPT Lab MemberFounded EdviroDavid KhachaturovMachine Learning ResearcherFounded Egoist MachinesJay DawaniMachine Learning EngineerFounded Lemurian LabsAnish AthalyeResearch InternFounded CleanlabDavid WiesenMember of Technical StaffFounded NextdoorJack ClarkPolicy DirectorFounded AnthropicBenjamin MannMember Of Technical StaffFounded AnthropicElliot KrooMember of Technical StaffFounded GetaroundLiam FedusVP of Research, Post-TrainingFounded Periodic LabsEmile ContalMember of Technical StaffFounded Crossing MindsDaniel LeeInvestorFounded AuraAshoat TevosyanMember of Technical StaffFounded CommStanislas PoluResearch EngineerFounded DustBarret ZophVP Research, Post-TrainingFounded Thinking Machines LabAmrita BhasinHonoree, ChatGPT Futures Class of 2026Founded SotiraJoe GershensonMember of Technical StaffFounded GazeHawkArturo Loaiza-BonillaAI in Health Member and ContributorFounded Massive BioAngela JiangPublic PolicyFounded Worktrace AiLeonard BogdonoffMember Of Technical StaffFounded Milk VideoCristian StratMember of Technical StaffFounded RunloopTyler NeylonMachine Learning Engineer (Contractor)Founded ZillabyteSridatta ThatipamalaMember of Technical StaffFounded FlotypeElfred PaganMember of Technical StaffFounded StackqCan SarMember of Technical StaffFounded Value VotingAndrew GibianskyMember of Technical Staff, Multimodal Co-LeadFounded VoiceryAmber NigamContributor to OpenAI’s Private Forum on AGI & AI Governance (Invite-Only Expert Network)Founded basys
Frequently asked questions
- What is the OpenAI mafia?
- The OpenAI mafia is the network of 116 people who came through OpenAI and went on to found or lead other companies, including LinkedIn, Tools for Humanity, PayPal, Safe Superintelligence, Perplexity.
- Who is in the OpenAI mafia?
- Notable members include Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn), Sam Altman (Tools for Humanity), Elon Musk (PayPal), Ilya Sutskever (Safe Superintelligence), Aravind Srinivas (Perplexity), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Daniela Amodei (Anthropic), Sean Grove (Linzumi), among 116 tracked members.
- What companies did OpenAI alumni found?
- Companies founded by OpenAI alumni include LinkedIn, Tools for Humanity, PayPal, Safe Superintelligence, Perplexity, Anthropic, Linzumi, Cheddar, Matroid, Gradescope.