Zero Shot Fund I

About Zero Shot Fund I

Zero Shot Fund I is a $100M debut seed fund led by ex-OpenAI applied engineering chief and alumni. Invests in AI startups positioned to survive the next model release, deliberately avoiding categories frontier models will absorb. Portfolio includes Worktrace AI and Foundry Robotics.

Investment Focus

Location / RegionUnited States

Funding StageSeed

Industry Focus

Ai Ml

Robotics Automation

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

Technical AI founders building durable moats above or below frontier model layers

AI applications

frontier-model-proof moats

seed-stage

negative thesis

hardware-plus-AI

Bullish Signals

First close completed, already writing checks into Worktrace AI and Foundry Roboticsblog

Insider roadmap visibility gives rare ability to evaluate technical moats fastblog

Responsive to inbound founders in non-excluded categoriesblog

Contrarian Signals

Five first-time GPs with no prior investing track recordblog

Explicitly avoids vibe coding, digital twins, egocentric-video roboticsblog

No experienced GP to anchor portfolio construction disciplineblog

Founder Do's

Clearly explain why your company survives GPT-6 shipping

Build above or below the model layer, not as a thin wrapper

Emphasize physical, workflow, or integration moats

Expect fast, technical diligence — come prepared with depth

Use Andrew Mayne's public profile as an inbound entry point

Founder Don'ts

Do not pitch vibe coding platforms or prompt-layer wrappers

Avoid digital twin or egocentric-video robotics training plays

Do not come without a credible answer to model commoditization risk

Key GPs & Partners

Evan Morikawa

General Partner

ex-founderthesis-drivenmetrics-driven

Andrew Mayne

General Partner

community-builderthesis-drivenopinionated

Shawn Jain

General Partner

metrics-driventhesis-driven

Kelly Kovacs

General Partner

thesis-driven

Brett Rounsaville

General Partner

ex-founder

Unlock Investor Signals

$29/month for full signal access. Cancel anytime.

View Plans Browse all Signal Profiles →

Fund Overview

Fund Size$100M

Saves0

Website

Key People

Evan Morikawa

Evan MorikawaGeneral Partner

Andrew MayneGeneral Partner

Shawn JainGeneral Partner

Kelly KovacsGeneral Partner

Brett RounsavilleGeneral Partner

About Zero Shot Fund I

Investment Focus

Investor Signals Profile

Sweet Spot

Bullish Signals

Contrarian Signals

Founder Do's

Founder Don'ts

Key GPs & Partners

Unlock Investor Signals

Fund Overview

Key People

Related Funds

Founders' Co-op New Fund I

Boldstart Ventures Fund VII

Yu Galaxy Star Fund III