Ryan Beiermeister joins Founders Fund as a partner

Founders Fund has added Ryan Beiermeister as a partner, bringing in a former OpenAI product policy executive at a time when venture money is chasing hard-tech and AI startups. For everyday investors, the hire is a reminder that some of the most closely watched technology bets are still being made in private markets before they ever show up in a public stock portfolio.

Beiermeister announced the move on Monday. She previously spent about two years as OpenAI’s vice president of product policy during the period after ChatGPT became a consumer phenomenon. Reuters reported in 2023 that ChatGPT had set a record as the fastest-growing consumer application in history.

Her OpenAI tenure ended in February, according to earlier reports. The Wall Street Journal reported that Beiermeister was fired after she objected to a planned ChatGPT feature called “adult mode,” which was expected to let adult users engage with the chatbot for erotica. The Journal also reported that the firing involved an allegation from a male colleague of sexual discrimination. Beiermeister denied that claim, calling any allegation that she discriminated against anyone “absolutely false.”

OpenAI later dropped the adult-mode plan in March, according to TechCrunch.

A venture role with a policy-heavy background

A partner at a venture capital firm helps find, evaluate and back startups. Venture capital is private investment in young companies, often before they have predictable revenue or access to public markets. That makes the role especially influential in sectors such as artificial intelligence, defense technology and biotech, where regulation, product risk and technical execution can shape whether a company survives.

Beiermeister’s résumé also includes Meta and Palantir. TechCrunch reported that she spent earlier career years at Palantir, the data company co-founded by Peter Thiel, who also founded Founders Fund. Founders Fund partner Trae Stephens also worked at Palantir in its early period, and a Founders Fund spokesperson told TechCrunch that Beiermeister has been close with Stephens since their time there and has been friendly with the firm’s team for years.

The same spokesperson said Beiermeister’s appearance on Founders Fund’s YouTube series “Mafia” was not part of the hiring process. The social deduction game asks players to identify hidden Mafia members before those players eliminate the rest of the group.

Beiermeister played the game with a group that included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey, Figma CEO Dylan Field, Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen and Stephens. TechCrunch reported that some people on X speculated that the show may have doubled as an interview. Mike Solana, Founders Fund’s chief marketing officer and the show’s host, said on X that the game is often played at Founders Fund retreats.

Where she says she wants to invest

In a LinkedIn post, Beiermeister said she is interested in backing startups in areas where Founders Fund has often shown interest. She pointed to “AI infrastructure and agentic systems, defense, energy, climate, biotech, the regulated frontier.”

AI infrastructure refers to the technical systems that power artificial intelligence, such as computing, data tools and model operations. Agentic systems are AI tools designed to take actions across tasks with less step-by-step human input.

Beiermeister wrote that companies in those areas could define the next 20 years and said she wants to hear from founders working in those fields, especially those who do not fit the standard mold.

This story draws on original reporting from TechCrunch.