Despite previous silence, OpenAI's startup accelerator program, Converge 2, has actually gone live, according to two sources familiar with the program, and TechCrunch has also confirmed that the Open AI Startup Fund has provided funding to the group's startups.
Converge 2 is a strange exception to the tech industry's usual PR practices: Accelerator programs typically announce the startups that have been accepted into their programs, as well as those that have graduated. After all, once you invest in them, you have every reason to get public recognition and increase those startups' chances of success.
But for months, a tech forum was buzzing with voices questioning whether the Converge 2 accelerator program was even happening. No one on that forum, including people who said they'd applied, had heard anything about it. No posters on the forum mentioned being accepted or receiving rejection letters. And despite how well-known OpenAI is, others in Silicon Valley hadn't heard of the program either, various sources told TechCrunch.
This silence was odd because that wasn't how the first program worked. OpenAI held Converge I in early 2023 in typical accelerator fashion: it called for applications and then publicly announced the first four investments from across the OpenAI Startup Fund. In December 2023, Open AI Startup Fund announced it would open applications for Converge 2, the second phase of the accelerator program, which is scheduled to begin in March 2024 and conclude by April.
But then there was silence. There were no press releases from OpenAI about the companies that had received investments, and despite multiple requests for comment over the course of several months, OpenAI would not acknowledge that the program had even taken place. The founders began musing about it online, messaging us.
We have yet to hear from people close to the program why OpenAI won't publicly announce the cohort's graduates. Are there strict NDAs? Is there simply a culture of non-disclosure? Indeed, communication was low-key even at Converge 1, with the names of companies that reportedly participated, such as Cursor.AI, only slowly emerging.
Indeed, the world has been keeping a lot of attention on OpenAI from early 2023 to today, especially since the company is reportedly seeking another round of funding that could bring its valuation to $100 billion, according to the WSJ. In fact, between Converge 1 and 2, the fund removed Sam Altman as owner and replaced him with Ian Hathaway.
The move doesn't disrupt the fund's activities: Since January, the fund has pumped money into several startups, including AI chatbot Heeyo, wellness company Thrive AI Health, AI chatbot New Computer, and Ambience Healthcare, which has developed an AI assistant for healthcare providers, according to PitchBook. At least two of those companies were part of the Converge program, according to sources, but they declined to say which ones, not wanting to upset OpenAI.
Details are even more scarce about what goes on inside the program. One person said the main benefit is access to OpenAI researchers and unreleased modeling techniques. That kind of access would support the theory that these companies are bound by aggressive NDAs. As Vox recently reported, OpenAI is fond of using the tool with its employees.