Key facts
- Ashton Kutcher is leaving Sound Ventures, which he co-founded 11 years ago.
- He is launching a new venture capital firm with Morgan Beller.
- The new firm will focus on early-stage investments in AI infrastructure, energy, and deep tech.
- Kutcher and Beller have different investment stage targets than Sound Ventures.
- Kutcher will remain an advisor to Sound Ventures.
Ashton Kutcher is stepping down from Sound Ventures, the venture capital firm he co-founded with Guy Oseary, to establish a new fund with Morgan Beller. Beller, previously a general partner at NFX and a leader of Meta's cryptocurrency project Libra, will partner with Kutcher in this new endeavor. The name of their new firm has not yet been disclosed.
The move does not signal distress at Sound Ventures, which has a strong track record, including early investments in OpenAI and Anthropic. Instead, the split appears to be driven by differing investment strategies. Sound Ventures has focused on concentrated bets in leading AI companies, while Kutcher and Beller's new fund aims to invest in the underlying infrastructure and energy powering these technologies, as well as deep tech startups.
Kutcher's departure is partly attributed to a divergence in views regarding investment stages, with Sound Ventures favoring more established companies and Kutcher's new fund targeting earlier-stage startups. Despite leaving his role as co-founder, Kutcher will continue to serve as an advisor to Sound Ventures. Concurrently, Oseary and Sound general partner Effie Epstein are set to advise Kutcher and Beller's new firm.