OpenAI’s former sales leader joins VC firm Acrew: OpenAI taught her where startups can build a ‘moat’

Aliisa Rosenthal, the inaugural sales leader at OpenAI, is making a significant career shift as she joins Acrew Capital as a general partner. In her new role, she will collaborate with founding partner Lauren Kolodny and other members of the firm. Rosenthal transitioned from OpenAI about eight months ago, wrapping up a transformative three-year period that included the launches of groundbreaking products like DALL·E and ChatGPT. Initially, Rosenthal hadn't planned to enter the venture capital world. "I was out there meeting with lots of AI startups," she remarked in an interview. However, the allure of impacting multiple startups drew her to the venture landscape when Kolodny introduced her to the idea of investing. After successfully expanding OpenAI’s sales team from a mere two individuals to a robust hundreds, she recognized the potential for broader influence in venture capital. During her tenure at OpenAI, Rosenthal gained valuable insights into buyer behavior and the misconceptions that many organizations hold about AI capabilities. She believes that understanding how startups can create a 'moat'—a sustainable competitive advantage—is crucial in an industry where competition from major players like OpenAI is fierce. "Will OpenAI just build everything and put every company out of business?" she questioned, expressing her thoughts on the company's extensive reach into various sectors. Specialization is one strategy she advocates for AI startups to maintain their edge. Furthermore, she emphasizes the importance of 'context' in AI applications, referring to the information an AI tool retains while processing requests. Rosenthal says, "Context is dynamic. It’s adaptable. It’s scalable," hinting at a future where context graphs may evolve beyond the traditional methods of minimizing inaccuracies in AI. As the tech landscape continues to evolve, Rosenthal anticipates significant innovations in the area of memory and reasoning in AI, suggesting that 2025 will usher in new approaches. She is particularly interested in applications that incorporate context effectively, believing that the management of this context layer will confer substantial advantages in AI product development. Additionally, Rosenthal sees opportunities for startups focused on developing cost-effective models that do not rely heavily on high-priced, state-of-the-art systems. "I think there is room in the market for cheaper models that are lighter weight and innovate on inference costs," she stated, highlighting her enthusiasm for investing in the application layer of AI. With a growing network of OpenAI alumni who have ventured into startup territory, Rosenthal plans to tap into this resource to discover promising new companies. The alumni network has already produced successful startups, and she hopes to identify those with innovative use cases that can enhance enterprise productivity. Rosenthal’s unique background and extensive network within the AI community position her as a formidable player in venture capital, as she aims to bridge the knowledge gap for enterprises still coming to terms with AI's potential. "There’s a really large gap that I am very optimistic can be filled," she concluded, envisioning a thriving landscape for AI applications and startups.