OpenAI has not only built a revolutionary product, but also demonstrated the power of an effective #partnerships 🤝 for future-focused companies.
OpenAI Partnership Playbook:
[0] Build revolutionary products & offer freemium versions [essential pre-requisite]
1️⃣ Partner early with complementary, resourceful companies that are unafraid to go big
Early in Open AI history they partnered with Microsoft securing a whopping $1B investment.
2️⃣ Focus on open APIs for seamless embedding
3️⃣ If your partnership pilot proved successful, scale it to maximize reach
Most recently, Open AI notched a multi-billion-dollar investment from Microsoft at a rumored valuation of up to $29B — a more than 100x premium on its projected 2023 revenue of $200M.
Chat GPT is now embedded in many Microsoft product and it’s probably just the beginning.
4️⃣ Invest in the next generation #startups built on top of your product to cement your status
Since October 2022, OpenAI’s $100M Startup Fund (backed by LPs including Microsoft) has doled out a dozen investments to primarily early-stage AI startups, including through its accelerator program Converge, which launched in November 2022.
OpenAI has dealt out its investments to a wide range of AI startups — by tying itself to many AI applications at once, the lab is proving its value to a wide array of potential clients.
Most of its portfolio companies leverage generative AI in their tools. The top themes in this crowd are:
General productivity tools: These range from note-taking apps for workers (Mem) to calendar management for families (Milo).
Industry solutions: OpenAI is opening the door to specific industries through its investments in companies like Harvey, a legal assistant built on OpenAI’s language models, and accounting automation platform Kick.
5️⃣ Launch an App Store (plugins) as adoption grows.
This will foster a thriving #ecosystem, drive innovation on top of your product. It will also expand its reach and can make you a gatekeeper.
💡 Just like AI will become like electricity, OpenAI's strategy is to become a central power grid, powering countless applications with fast adoption.