Ashton Kutcher leaving Sound Ventures to launch new VC firm with Morgan Beller

2026-07-01 · Source: AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch · Field: Finance & Economics — Capital Markets & Investment Management, Entrepreneurship & Start-ups · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, quick

Summary

Ashton Kutcher is launching a new venture capital firm with Morgan Beller, departing from Sound Ventures, which he co-founded 11 years ago with Guy Oseary. Beller brings experience as a general partner at NFX, co-leading Meta's Libra project, and a partner at Andreessen Horowitz. While Sound Ventures built a reputation backing established companies like Brex, Gusto, and early AI leaders such as OpenAI and Anthropic, Kutcher's new, unnamed firm will concentrate on early-stage investments. Its focus will be on AI infrastructure, energy, and deep tech startups, emphasizing hard science and engineering breakthroughs. This strategic shift reflects differing views on investment stages. Kutcher will continue advising Sound Ventures, with Oseary and Sound general partner Effie Epstein advising the new entity. Stanford finance professor Ilya Strebulaev has recognized Kutcher as a top unicorn investor.

Key takeaway

For venture capitalists or angel investors evaluating future opportunities, Ashton Kutcher's shift to early-stage AI infrastructure, energy, and deep tech signals a significant area of emerging focus. You should consider diversifying your portfolio towards foundational technologies powering AI, rather than solely focusing on application-layer AI companies. This move suggests a belief in the long-term value of underlying scientific and engineering breakthroughs, potentially guiding your own strategic investment decisions.

Key insights

A prominent investor is shifting focus to early-stage AI infrastructure and deep tech, signaling a potential trend in venture capital.

Principles

• Investment focus can evolve with market shifts.
• Early-stage AI infrastructure attracts experienced capital.
• Deep tech demands specialized investment strategies.

In practice

• Monitor early-stage AI infrastructure investments.
• Evaluate deep tech startups for hard science breakthroughs.

Topics

• Venture Capital
• AI Infrastructure
• Deep Tech
• Early-Stage Investment
• Ashton Kutcher
• Morgan Beller

Best for: Investor, Entrepreneur, Tech Journalist

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch.