The OpenAI mafia: 18 startups founded by alumni
infonews
industry
Source: TechCrunchFebruary 20, 2026
Summary
OpenAI employees have founded at least 18 startups after leaving the company, creating what some call the 'OpenAI mafia' in Silicon Valley. Notable alumni-founded companies include Anthropic (a major rival that recently raised $30 billion), Adept AI Labs, Cresta, and Covariant, with some startups reaching billion-dollar valuations despite not yet launching products.
Classification
Attack SophisticationModerate
Affected Vendors
OpenAIAnthropic
Related Issues
Original source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/20/the-openai-mafia-15-of-the-most-notable-startups-founded-by-alumni/
First tracked: February 20, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Classified by LLM (prompt v3) · confidence: 85%