Aliisa Rosenthal, OpenAI's first commercial employee and former head of sales, has left her position to join venture capital firm Acrew. She joined OpenAI in June 2022, when there were only a few sales employees and no actual product yet. ChatGPT was launched 6 months after her arrival.
According to Yahoo Finance, during her time at OpenAI, Aliisa Rosenthal grew the sales team from 15 to 150 people and conducted thousands of direct meetings with companies. She called herself an "AGI sherpa," guiding clients through the new world of technology that can seem daunting and complex. Rosenthal stated that selling artificial intelligence differs from traditional software sales because it first requires addressing people's fears and then explaining the functionalities.
In her new role, Aliisa Rosenthal will invest in startups developing artificial intelligence applications for enterprises. She believes there are significant opportunities in this area, as OpenAI cannot cover the entire corporate application ecosystem on its own. In an interview with Fortune, Rosenthal emphasized that while OpenAI is both a consumer and enterprise-focused company, it's unrealistic to meet all needs.
Experts consider this move significant in terms of OpenAI's development phase. The departure of a key figure who built the sales team after ChatGPT's success is noteworthy. At the same time, Rosenthal's intimate knowledge of which corporate problems remained unsolved during her tenure at OpenAI gives her an advantage in her new investment strategy based on internal insights.
It is noted that OpenAI's sales team did not implement a quota and commission system, and the team presented itself more as "guides in a once-in-a-generation technological shift" rather than salespeople. Aliisa Rosenthal's move to the venture capital sector is seen as a continuation of the trend of OpenAI employees leaving to found startups, join competitor companies, or move into the investment field.