Ian Hathaway

Ian Hathaway

Ian Hathaway is a startup investor and entrepreneur based in San Francisco. He is currently a Partner at the OpenAI Startup Fund, where he manages investments in early-stage AI companies across sectors like healthcare, education, and the sciences.234

Prior to OpenAI, Hathaway was an investor at Haystack, a seed-stage venture capital firm in San Francisco.124 During his time at Haystack, he made early investments in companies such as Instacart, DoorDash, Hashicorp, Wag, and Carta.4

Hathaway has a background in computer science, having studied at Duke University.2 He is known for his keen eye for identifying promising AI startups and helping them scale.3 Under his leadership, the OpenAI Startup Fund has invested in companies like Ambience Healthcare, Cursor, Harvey, and Speak.3

In addition to his investing work, Hathaway is an active writer, sharing his thoughts on startups, venture capital, and leadership on his personal website.5 He also enjoys building community and coaching founders.5