Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures raises $240M for AI investment

Actor Ashton Kutcher's venture capital firm, Sound Ventures, has raised $240 million for an artificial intelligence (AI) fund. The fund will invest in AI businesses at a foundation model layer, meaning companies that use models trained on large amounts of data. Sound Ventures' investment portfolio already includes AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and StabilityAI. Kutcher believes that AI is potentially the most significant technology since the advent of the internet. The foundation model layer companies are defining the category, and they have the power to transform businesses and everyday life. Kutcher, along with talent manager Guy Oseary, founded Sound Ventures in 2015. They manage over $1 billion in assets and have backed major companies, including Airbnb, Uber, and Spotify. The AI fund comes at a time when AI technology has reached a point of considerable growth, given its extensive usability. The companies Sound Ventures backs will be at the forefront of this innovation, and Sound Ventures is excited to bring their distinct experiences and connectivity to support these AI foundational platforms. Kutcher has built a reputation in finance and has invested in various companies. Starting as an angel investor, he first co-founded A-Grade before moving on to Sound Ventures. The new AI fund is expected to play an impactful role in everything we do, including entertainment, an industry the firm knows well.