According to The Wall Street Journal, actor and investor Ashton Kutcher will leave Sound Ventures, which he co-founded with Guy Oseary 11 years ago, and is preparing to launch a new venture capital firm with Morgan Beller. TechCrunch reported that prior indications of Kutcher’s departure have now been further clarified.
The new fund is shifting toward earlier-stage projects.
Reports indicate that the name of the new institution has not yet been disclosed. Morgan Beller was previously a general partner at the seed-stage investment firm NFX, worked on the Libra cryptocurrency project at Meta, and spent nearly three years at Andreessen Horowitz.
Unlike Sound Ventures’ recent focus on relatively mature companies, Kucher and Beller’s new fund will concentrate on earlier-stage investments, primarily in AI infrastructure, energy, and deep tech startups.
The investment focus shifts from models to underlying capabilities.
Sound Ventures has previously gained attention for backing leading AI companies, including investments in OpenAI, Anthropic, and World Labs founded by Fei-Fei Li, as well as companies like Brex and Gusto.
What draws more attention in this spin-off is that it reflects a possible shift in AI investment flows. Rather than continuing to concentrate bets on leading model companies, Kucher’s new fund is more inclined to invest in the underlying capabilities that support these companies, including computing infrastructure, energy supply, and engineering-driven deep tech projects.
- Key focus areas include AI infrastructure
- Also covers energy-related startups
- Deep tech projects are also one of the main focus areas.
Maintain an advisory relationship after departure
The report noted that Kucher's departure from Sound Ventures does not indicate financial strain at the firm. Sound Ventures is still regarded as one of the top-performing venture capital firms.
Kucher will continue to serve as an advisor to Sound Ventures after his departure. Meanwhile, Guy Oseary and Sound Ventures general partner Effie Epstein will also provide advice to Kucher and Beller’s new venture.
The Wall Street Journal reported that one reason for the split was a difference in views on investment stages: Sound favored investing in more mature companies, while Kucher wanted to direct funds toward earlier-stage startups.