A new artificial intelligence startup named Worktrace AI has been established by Angela Jiang, an early product manager at OpenAI. The company, which focuses on automating business tasks, has secured funding from several prominent figures associated with OpenAI, including former Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati.
Key Takeaways
- Worktrace AI was founded by Angela Jiang, one of OpenAI's first product managers.
- The startup aims to help businesses automate repetitive tasks by having AI observe employee workflows.
- Key investors include former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon, and other OpenAI executives.
- The company was in discussions to raise a $10 million seed round at a reported $50 million valuation.
- This launch is part of a growing trend of former OpenAI employees founding highly valued AI companies.
New Enterprise AI Firm Emerges
A new company, Worktrace AI, has entered the enterprise software market, founded by former OpenAI product manager Angela Jiang. The startup is developing technology designed to identify and automate repetitive tasks within large businesses by observing employee activities on their computers.
The company operates in a relatively stealth mode, with a basic website and LinkedIn page but no formal public announcements about its launch. Angela Jiang declined to provide a comment for this story. Her cofounder, Deepak Vasisht, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Illinois, did not respond to an inquiry.
According to its public materials, Worktrace AI's platform is part of a growing interest in Silicon Valley focused on creating AI systems that can learn and replicate complex human tasks directly. This approach aims to streamline business processes and improve efficiency without extensive manual programming.
Significant Backing from OpenAI Leadership
Worktrace AI has attracted a notable group of investors with deep ties to OpenAI. A job posting for a founding engineer position revealed that the company's backers include some of the most influential people from the AI research lab.
The list of investors features Mira Murati, OpenAI's former CTO who now leads her own secretive AI venture, Thinking Machines Lab. Other key investors are Jason Kwon, OpenAI's chief strategy officer; Nick Turley, the head of ChatGPT; and Joanne Jang, who previously led the team responsible for shaping ChatGPT's behavior.
High-Profile Investors
Beyond individual executives, Worktrace AI is also funded by OpenAI's own startup fund. Venture capital firms 8VC and Conviction are also listed as backers, indicating broad investor confidence in the startup's potential.
This strong network of support from within the OpenAI ecosystem provides Worktrace AI with significant strategic advantages, including access to expertise, industry connections, and a deep understanding of the current AI landscape.
Funding and Valuation Details
Information regarding the company's finances indicates ambitious growth plans. During the summer, Worktrace AI was reportedly in talks to raise a seed funding round of $10 million. Correspondence related to the fundraising efforts suggested this investment would place the company's valuation at $50 million.
This pre-product valuation is characteristic of the current AI investment climate, where startups led by founders with proven track records at major AI labs can command high valuations early in their development.
"The ability to secure a $50 million valuation in a seed round highlights the intense investor demand for teams with direct experience building foundational AI models," stated one market analyst familiar with the AI startup scene.
The successful fundraising would provide Worktrace AI with the necessary capital to build out its engineering team and develop its core technology platform for enterprise clients.
The Growing 'OpenAI Mafia'
The launch of Worktrace AI is the latest example of a trend sometimes referred to as the "OpenAI mafia," where former employees leverage their experience to create new, highly valued companies. These ventures often attract significant funding before generating revenue or releasing a public product.
A Trend of High-Valuation Startups
This phenomenon includes several prominent companies founded by OpenAI alumni. Mira Murati's new firm, Thinking Machines Lab, reportedly closed a $2 billion seed funding round this year, reaching a valuation of $12 billion. Similarly, Safe Superintelligence, founded by OpenAI's former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, is valued at a reported $32 billion.
Another recent example is Periodic Labs, co-founded by William Fedus, a researcher who contributed to the creation of ChatGPT. The company announced it had raised a $300 million round last month to build "AI scientists."
Angela Jiang's Role at OpenAI
Angela Jiang was a key early employee at OpenAI, holding the position of the company's third product manager. According to her LinkedIn profile, she was instrumental in the launch of the models that power ChatGPT, including the version released in late 2022 that brought generative AI into the mainstream.
Her experience extends beyond product development. Before her departure in December 2024, Jiang also worked on OpenAI's public policy team, giving her insight into the regulatory and ethical challenges facing the AI industry. This combination of technical and policy experience positions her to navigate the complex enterprise market with Worktrace AI.