Last year, Sound Ventures, a nine-year-old Beverly Hills, Calif.-based venture led by general partners Ashton Kutcher, Guy O'Seary and Effie Epstein, launched a new Announced $65 million AI fund. Companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Hugging Face.
In fact, the plan was to invest in just six companies. It was a gamble that could pay off big, albeit with risks to the team's future vision. A small number and large number of companies will be the biggest winners in the AI space due to the necessary technical talent and the capital needed to cover computing costs.
Sound has since raised even more money for the same fund. And judging by some of the deals published in 2024, the company seems to be sticking to its mission, hosting all three at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 to discuss their strategy and exactly what they're doing. I'm excited to explain the trends we're tracking. now.
Kutcher has transitioned more seamlessly between the acting world and the investing world than perhaps anyone else in Hollywood, starting A Grade Investments with talent manager and business partner Guy O'Seary in 2010 and investing in ventures. I started walking down this path. Guy Oseary was an early bet on Airbnb. And Uber helped solidify the company's reputation for making the right deal at the right time.
The two founded Sound Ventures in 2014 and brought Epstein on board a few years later to complement their own skill sets. Mr. Epstein previously led global strategy at Marsh & McLennan subsidiary Marsh & Co. She also served as Senior Vice President of Planning and Head of Investor Relations at iHeartMedia, and before that worked in business development at Clear.
Mr. Epstein also previously worked in investment banking in the energy sector, bringing a diverse range of experience and connections.
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