This silence was odd because it was not how the first program worked. OpenAI held Converge I in the typical accelerator fashion in early 2023. It called for applications and then publicly announced its first four investments from the overall OpenAI Startup Fund. In December 2023, Open AI Startup Fund announced it would start accepting applications for the second cohort of its accelerator program, Converge 2, expected to begin in March 2024 and conclude by April.
But then, silence. There was no press release from OpenAI about the companies that earned investments. And after multiple requests for comment over months, OpenAI refused to even confirm that the program took place. Founders took to pondering online — and messaging us — about it.