Actor Ashton Kutcher is best known to many for his role on TV shows like "That ‘70s Show" and "Two and a Half Men." To the finance world, Kutcher has built a reputation as a good investor with his Sound Ventures fund. One investment made years ago could turn into Kutcher's biggest win ever.
Kutcher Invested In OpenAI Early
AI startup OpenAI counts Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) as its largest investor, a company that could benefit from a potential IPO of the company.
Valued at $852 billion in a March $122 billion funding round, OpenAI could become worth even more if the company goes public.
Prediction market Polymarket shows that users are predicting a valuation of $1 trillion or more with 15% predicting a range of $1 trillion to $1.25 trillion, 11% predicting a range of $1.25 trillion to $1.5 trillion and 22% predicting $1.5 trillion or more. Some (30%) are predicting that the IPO won't happen in 2026 though.
Further down the list of investors in OpenAI is Sound Ventures, the fund co-founded by Kutcher. According to leaked documents, Sound Ventures ranks 22nd on the list of OpenAI investors, as reported by Inc.
Sound Ventures invested $30 million in OpenAI years ago. That stake was valued at around $1.3 billion in March when the company was valued at $852 billion.
With a potential value of $1.5 trillion, Kutcher's company investment would be worth $2.29 billion. This represents a huge multiple on the original investment.
Kutcher's Investment Success
While still a major force in acting, Kutcher has also made a name for himself in the investing world, landing stakes in companies like Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB), Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) and Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT).
Kutcher turned $30 million into $250 million by investing in companies he believed in and by using a set of guidelines to determine his investments. A-Grade Investments was co-founded by Kutcher, Guy Oseary and Ron Burkle. The trio invested the $30 million in tech companies like Spotify, Airbnb, Uber, Foursquare and Skype.
The actor later co-founded Sound Ventures with Oseary. The venture capital firm specialized in early-stage venture investments. Sound Ventures launched an AI-focused fund in 2023 with $240 million in capital, investing in AI companies.
Kutcher became a successful actor thanks to the breakout hit "That ‘70s Show." Kutcher earned between $250,000 to $300,000 per episode by the end of the show's run. Kutcher later replaced Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men," where he earned $700,000 per episode.
The money earned from acting would be used by Kutcher to begin his career as an entrepreneur and investor.
"I really think that technology has the greatest potential to accelerate happiness of most things in the world. The companies that will ultimately do well are the companies that chase happiness," Kutcher said previously.
Throughout his personal investments and work as a partner with other co-founders, Kutcher uses three main traits to identify target companies.
- Founders he wants to work with.
- Business models that can gain from an investment from Kutcher and his partners.
- Companies that have a mission statement that can solve problems.
Kutcher credits being a good listener and observer in his early days in Silicon Valley with gaining an understanding of what to look for in potential investments.
Image via Shutterstock
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