Ian Hathaway leads OpenAI's venture investing strategy, deploying capital into early-stage AI startups where artificial intelligence can create transformative step-change improvements in regulated, high-margin sectors. The fund targets healthcare, law, education, energy, and infrastructure, where distribution, trust, regulatory integration, and domain expertise matter as much as model performance. Hathaway functions as both capital provider and technical partner, collapsing the traditional gap between financial backing and commercial infrastructure access by leveraging OpenAI's platform capabilities. The fund invests in companies building AI-native solutions for professional workflows and critical infrastructure, often securing early access to specialized model variants and technical support as part of its strategic value proposition