Ashton Kutcher, the actor turned venture capitalist, is departing Sound Ventures, the firm he co-founded with Guy Oseary 11 years ago, to co-establish a new venture capital firm alongside Morgan Beller. The announcement, which first appeared in TechCrunch, marks a significant shift in Kutcher's investment career as he returns to early-stage investing with a sharp focus on artificial intelligence infrastructure, energy, and deep technology.
A Strategic Split from Sound Ventures
Sound Ventures, founded in 2015, initially targeted early-stage technology startups but gradually migrated toward later-stage deals over the years. Kutcher's decision to leave is partly strategic: he wants to return to the roots of venture capital by supporting founders at the earliest stages of company building. The new firm, whose name has not been disclosed, will concentrate exclusively on early-stage investments in sectors that Kutcher believes will produce the next generation of transformative companies—specifically AI infrastructure, energy, and deep tech. The fund size also remains under wraps, though Kutcher and Beller have begun raising capital from limited partners.
Kutcher's departure from Sound Ventures appears amicable. He will continue to advise the firm, while Oseary and Effie Epstein, Sound's third general partner, will serve as advisers to the new firm. Sound Ventures, which manages over one billion dollars in assets, will continue operations under Oseary's leadership, maintaining its focus on later-stage opportunities.
Morgan Beller's Impressive Resume
Morgan Beller brings a wealth of experience from some of the most prominent names in technology and venture capital. She is best known for co-leading the creation of Libra, Meta's ambitious cryptocurrency project that later rebranded to Diem before being shut down due to regulatory pressures. Following her tenure at Meta, Beller spent roughly three years as a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most influential venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. She later joined NFX as a general partner, where she honed her skills in early-stage investing across network effects and marketplace businesses. Beller's deep understanding of blockchain, infrastructure, and emerging technologies complements Kutcher's track record in identifying disruptive startups.
Kutcher's Proven Investing Track Record
Ashton Kutcher's reputation as a technology investor has long outstripped his Hollywood stardom. Through Sound Ventures, he personally backed OpenAI and Anthropic before either company became a household name, when generative AI was still a niche field. His portfolio also includes Brex, the fintech unicorn; Gusto, a payroll and HR platform; and World Labs, the AI company founded by Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li, a pioneer in computer vision. Stanford finance professor Ilya Strebulaev praised Kutcher's investing record on X (formerly Twitter) after the news broke, calling it one of the strongest in venture capital over the past decade. Kutcher's ability to spot emerging trends ahead of the curve has made him a respected figure in the VC community.
The New Firm's Focus: AI Infrastructure, Energy, and Deep Tech
The new firm will specifically target early-stage companies building the foundational layers of the AI revolution. While many large funds are pouring billions into later-stage AI companies that have already demonstrated product-market fit, Kutcher and Beller are betting that the more lucrative opportunities lie upstream—in the infrastructure and energy companies that those later-stage giants will depend on. This includes investments in next-generation data centers, semiconductor design, energy storage, renewable power for AI workloads, and deep tech innovations in materials science, quantum computing, and biotechnology. The partners believe that the AI boom will require massive investments in physical infrastructure and energy production, a thesis that aligns with broader trends in the venture capital industry.
A Crowded Field of Competitors
The timing of the new firm's launch places Kutcher and Beller in a highly competitive environment. Founders Fund recently closed a six billion dollar growth fund focusing on AI and defense technology. Accel raised five billion dollars for late-stage AI bets. Eclipse, a deep tech specialist, raised over one billion dollars for early-stage deep tech and physical industries. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, a record 297 billion dollars flowed into startups globally, with AI-related deals accounting for a substantial share. Against this backdrop, Kutcher and Beller's new firm must carve out a niche that differentiates it from the mega-funds that can write hundred-million-dollar checks. Their focus on early-stage companies, combined with sector specificity, may attract entrepreneurs who value hands-on guidance and domain expertise over sheer capital size.
However, the new firm faces significant challenges. Without a publicly known name or disclosed fund size, it will have to prove its ability to compete against established deep tech investors like Lux Capital, DCVC, and Data Collective. Kutcher's celebrity status and Beller's pedigree may open doors, but the firm must demonstrate that it can provide strategic value beyond writing checks. The duo's combined network—Kutcher's connections in Hollywood and tech, Beller's ties to Andreessen Horowitz and NFX—could give them unique deal flow access, especially for founders working at the intersection of consumer technology and infrastructure.
Kutcher and Beller's move also reflects a broader shift in venture capital: as late-stage rounds balloon, many investors are rediscovering the appeal of early-stage bets where valuations are lower and the potential for outsized returns is higher. By concentrating on AI infrastructure and energy, they are positioning themselves at the center of the next industrial revolution. Whether their firm can emerge as a major player in deep tech remains to be seen, but the signals point to a calculated bet on the future of computing.