Fundraising Fox
Sam Altman
InvestorUnicorn founderFounder at OpenAI · General Partner at OpenAI Startup Fund · Co-founder & CEO of OpenAI; former President of Y Combinator · Promoter at APOLLO PROJECTS · Advisor at Stellar Development Foundation · +2 more
San Francisco, CA
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About
Sam Altman leads OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which closed a $122 billion round in March 2026 at an $852 billion valuation — the largest private round in history. He dropped out of Stanford at 19 to found Loopt in Y Combinator's first batch (sold to Green Dot for $43.4M in 2012), ran Y Combinator as president from 2014 to 2019, and co-founded OpenAI with Elon Musk and others in 2015, becoming CEO in 2019 — surviving a five-day board ouster in November 2023. He also co-founded Hydrazine Capital and Tools for Humanity (World), was Reddit's CEO for eight days, and has made some of tech's boldest personal bets: $375M into fusion startup Helion and the entire $180M seed of longevity company Retro Biosciences.
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Altman co-founded Loopt in 2005, a location-based social networking mobile application. Altman co-founded Hydrazine Capital in 2012 with his brother Jack Altman. Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015. Altman co-founded Tools For Humanity in 2019, which promoted the Worldcoin cryptocurrency. Altman co-founded AltC Acquisition Corp, a SPAC, in 2021 with investment banker Michael Klein. Dropped out of Stanford at 19 to found the location app Loopt in Y Combinator's first-ever batch (2005); Green Dot acquired it for $43.4M in 2012. Co-founded Worldcoin (now World) with Alex Blania in 2019 — the iris-scanning Orb project for proof-of-humanity identity.
- Education
- Studied at Stanford University (Computer Science) Studied at John Burroughs School
- Boards
- Was Reddit's interim CEO for eight days in 2014 and sat on its board until 2022.
- Charities
- Altman helped fund and create Project Covalence during the COVID-19 pandemic to help researchers rapidly launch clinical trials in partnership with TrialSpark.
- Communities
- Got his first computer, a Mac LC II, at age 8 in St. Louis — the machine he credits with everything that followed.
- Awards
- Altman received the Axel Springer Award. Altman received an honorary doctorate. Businessweek recognized Altman as one of its 'Top Young Tech Entrepreneurs' in 2008. Altman received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo in 2017 for supporting companies in its Velocity entrepreneurship program. Paul Graham ranked Altman among the five most captivating startup founders between 1979 and 2009.
- Hobbies
- Altman received his first computer, an Apple Macintosh, at age eight and began learning to code and disassemble computer hardware. Lifelong vegetarian, licensed pilot, and self-described prepper.
- Family
- Altman is the eldest of four siblings, with brothers Max and Jack and a sister Ann; his brother Jack co-founded Lattice. Altman married Oliver Mulherin in 2024 and has one child. Altman's mother Connie Gibstine is a dermatologist and his father Jerry Altman was a real estate broker. Grew up in St. Louis, came out as gay at 17, married engineer Oliver Mulherin in January 2024; their son was born in 2025.
- More
- Altman helped fund and create Project Covalence during the COVID-19 pandemic to help researchers launch clinical trials with TrialSpark. Paul Graham ranked Altman among the five most captivating startup founders between 1979 and 2009. Altman was invited to attend the Bilderberg Meeting in 2016, 2022, and 2023. Personally funded the entire $180M seed of Retro Biosciences, the longevity startup targeting ten extra years of healthy human life. Put $375M into fusion startup Helion in 2021 — his biggest personal investment — and chaired its board until March 2026.
Mentioned above: the Y Combinator mafia → · the OpenAI mafia → · the Reddit mafia →
From Sam's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Chairman at Tools for Humanity
Intro paths
In turn, Sam can intro founders to Tools for Humanity's investors below.
Tools for Humanity's investors · 4
Co-founders at Tools for Humanity
Founder at OpenAI
Intro paths
In turn, Sam can intro founders to OpenAI's investors below.
OpenAI's investors · 105
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Co-founders at OpenAI
Founder at LooptYC S05
Intro paths
Sam went through Y Combinator (Summer 2005) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
In turn, Sam can intro founders to Loopt's investors below.
Loopt's investors · 3
Co-founders at Loopt
Deals · 1
ValueBaseSolo GP
via Hydrazine Capital
Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters. Some rows are inferred. Not right? Tell us.
Other disclosed investments
Board seats
Helion EnergyOkloRedditUPower
Investor
19107 CupsAirbnbAirchatAltANA TherapeuticsAPEXApollo ProjectsArcadia MedicineArkham IntelligenceAsanaAshvattha TherapeuticsAspen NeuroscienceAtmosAtrium LTSBeacon AIBeekBoom SupersonicBoom TechnologyBRINCBRINCBufferBoxCadooCampusCarWooChange.orgCleverCoalitionCocoCodecademyConception BioContextCoupleCrowdMedCruiseCruiseCustoraDetectDoorbell HealthEponymEveExcepgenExecExowattFarmLogsFiboFlutterwaveFormation BioGALYGustoHeapHelion EnergyHermeus Mach 5 engineHeyMarvinHogaruHumaneInduced AIInstacartJourney ColabKamiKimono LabsKoBold MetalsLatticeLe ToteLeadGeniusLimitless AI (formerly Rewind AI)LobLocket LabsLongshot Space TechnologiesLuggMagratheaMatrixMeanwhileMentraMeterMinicircleMotionNautilus LabsNervana SystemsNeuralink-LogoArtboard-1NOYACKOpendoor TechnologiesOptimizelyOysterPanorama EducationPatreonPhoneSysPinterestPlanePlanGridPraxisPreludePrestoPreventivePriceonomicsPrimerPrósperaQuartzyQueer SpacesQuillQuoraRain AIRealTimeRed Queen BioRedditRescaleRetro BiosciencesRoboflowRoutableScience ExchangeshelpfulSingleStoreSlopeSoftware Applications IncorporatedSoylentSpringSpring DiscoveryStarsky RoboticsStripe, Inc.SunFarmerSupersideSwiftypeteachme.toTeespringTerraformationTheoremTipTopTitanTrade GhanaTrialSparkTriplebyteTrueNorthUncommonURXVerifiableVicariousViroolVital BioWarpWave Mobile MoneyWevorceWorldcoinZenefitsZeroDown
Per curated public sources.
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Sam AltmanSam Altman on AGI, Compute, and Human Agency
Invest Like The Best
Sam Altman on Sora, Energy, and Building an AI Empire
a16z
Sam Altman on Building OpenAI & Betting on the Impossible
David Senra
Sam Altman Says We're in the AI Singularity - OpenAI Made the Future Lame
Eli the Computer Guy
Sam Altman: "Never a Better Time to Do a Startup"
Startup School
Sam Altman - How to Start a Startup
Relentless
6 more appearances
- What I Learned From My Interview With Sam Altman2026-04-30
- Sam Altman: How OpenAI Wins, ChatGPT’s Future, AI Buildout Logic, IPO in 2026?2025-12-18
- Sam Altman on Trust, Persuasion, and the Future of Intelligence - Live at the Progress Conference2025-11-05
- Sam Altman | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #5992025-07-23
- Sam Altman talks the NYT lawsuit, Meta's talent poaching, and Trump on AI | Interview2025-06-25
- Sam Altman: The Future of OpenAI, ChatGPT's Origins, and Building AI Hardware2025-06-21
Writing
An essay using a spaceship-versus-airplane metaphor to advise founders on recognizing and navigating what kind of success their startup can achieve.
An essay offering guidance on management, structure, and challenges startups face 12-24 months in once they are growing and doing well.
An essay arguing founders should build a product people love before focusing on growth, since word-of-mouth makes scaling far easier.
Colleagues at OpenAI Startup Fund
Network8
Investors connected to Sam in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Sam Altman?
- Sam Altman leads OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which closed a $122 billion round in March 2026 at an $852 billion valuation — the largest private round in history. He dropped out of Stanford at 19 to found Loopt in Y Combinator's first batch (sold to Green Dot for $43.4M in 2012), ran Y Combinator as president from 2014 to 2019, and co-founded OpenAI with Elon Musk and others in 2015, becoming CEO in 2019 — surviving a five-day board ouster in November 2023. He also co-founded Hydrazine Capital and Tools for Humanity (World), was Reddit's CEO for eight days, and has made some of tech's boldest personal bets: $375M into fusion startup Helion and the entire $180M seed of longevity company Retro Biosciences.
- Where does Sam Altman work?
- Sam Altman is Founder of OpenAI and General Partner at OpenAI Startup Fund and at Sam Altman and Promoter at APOLLO PROJECTS and Advisor at Stellar Development Foundation and Chairman at Tools for Humanity and Founder at Loopt.
- What companies did Sam Altman found?
- Sam Altman founded OpenAI, Loopt, Tools for Humanity.
- What boards does Sam Altman sit on?
- Sam Altman holds tracked board seats at Helion Energy, Oklo, Reddit, UPower.
- What companies has Sam Altman invested in?
- Investments tracked here include 1910, 7 Cups, Airbnb, Airchat, Alt, ANA Therapeutics, APEX, Apollo Projects, Arcadia Medicine, Arkham Intelligence, Asana, Ashvattha Therapeutics, and 133 more.
- What awards has Sam Altman received?
- Altman received the Axel Springer Award. Altman received an honorary doctorate. Businessweek recognized Altman as one of its 'Top Young Tech Entrepreneurs' in 2008. Altman received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo in 2017 for supporting companies in its Velocity entrepreneurship program. Paul Graham ranked Altman among the five most captivating startup founders between 1979 and 2009.
- What has Sam Altman written?
- Sam Altman has 3 tracked posts on ycombinator.com, including "Navigating success for your startup", "Later stage advice for startups", "Before growing your startup".
- What podcasts and interviews feature Sam Altman?
- Tracked appearances include "Sam Altman on AGI, Compute, and Human Agency", "Sam Altman on Sora, Energy, and Building an AI Empire", "Sam Altman on Building OpenAI & Betting on the Impossible", and 9 more.
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia10,686
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
OpenAI mafia116
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Reddit mafia20
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Stellar Development Foundation mafia8
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Tools for Humanity mafia8
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
About this profile. Compiled from public sources — OpenAI Startup Fund's own website, press coverage and public professional profiles — and summarised by Fundraising Fox; every fact is kept with where it came from. Spotted an error, or would rather not be listed? Email privacy@fundraisingfox.com · How we build profiles · Your rights