Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures raises $240 million to invest in AI businesses

• Ashton Kutcher's VC firm Sound Ventures has raised $240 million to invest in AI companies.
• "We believe this is potentially the most significant technology we will experience since the advent of the internet."

The venture capital firm founded by actor Ashton Kutcher and talent manager Guy Oseary have launched an artificial intelligence fund.

Sound Ventures raised nearly $240 million in investment capital and said it will seek AI businesses at a foundation model layer, meaning firms using models trained on large amounts of data.

"We anticipate that AI is going to play an impactful role in everything we do – including entertainment, an industry we know well," Oseary said in a press release. "The companies we are backing will be at the forefront of this powerful innovation, and Sound Ventures is excited to bring our distinct experiences and connectivity to responsibly support these AI foundational platforms."

Sound Ventures' investment portfolio already includes artificial intelligence companies like OpenAI, Anthropic and StabilityAI.

According to the press release, the fund comes as AI technology has reached a point of considerable growth, given its extensive usability.

"We believe this is potentially the most significant technology we will experience since the advent of the internet," said Kutcher, general partner at Sound Ventures. "The foundation model layer companies are defining the category, and, in our view, they have the power to transform businesses and everyday life. That is a conversation we want to be in."

Kutcher and Oseary founded Sound Ventures in 2015. Alongside General Partner Effie Epstein, they manage over $1 billion in assets, and have backed major companies, including Airbnb, Uber and Spotify.

Beyond Hollywood stardom, Kutcher has built a reputation in finance. Starting as an angel investor, he first co-founded A-Grade before moving on to Sound.