Ashton Kutcher is departing from Sound Ventures to establish a new venture capital firm alongside Morgan Beller.
TL;DR: Ashton Kutcher is departing from Sound Ventures, which he co-founded with Guy Oseary 11 years ago, to launch a new early-stage investment firm with Morgan Beller, focusing on AI infrastructure, energy, and deep tech. Kutcher aims to return to supporting founders in the earliest stages of their ventures, as Sound Ventures has shifted towards later-stage investments. The new firm's name and fund size haven't been revealed yet.
Beller has an impressive background, having co-led the development of Libra, Meta’s cryptocurrency initiative (later renamed Diem), and spending approximately three years as a partner at Andreessen Horowitz before becoming a general partner at NFX.
Kutcher's record as a technology investor has surpassed his Hollywood fame, with Sound Ventures backing early-stage companies like OpenAI and Anthropic prior to their mainstream recognition, along with Brex, Gusto, and World Labs. Stanford finance professor Ilya Strebulaev commended Kutcher's investment achievements, labeling them among the strongest in venture capital over the last decade.
The split appears amicable; Kutcher will still advise Sound Ventures, while Oseary and Effie Epstein, Sound’s third general partner, will provide guidance for the new firm. Sound Ventures manages over a billion dollars in assets and will continue to function under Oseary’s leadership.
Kutcher and Beller are entering a competitive market, with Founders Fund recently closing a $6 billion growth fund for AI and defense technology, Accel raising $5 billion for late-stage AI investments, and Eclipse securing over $1 billion for early-stage deep tech and physical sectors. The first quarter of 2026 set a record with $297 billion invested in startups worldwide.
The proposed distinction of the new firm lies in its early-stage focus and specific sector targets. Many top funds competing for AI investments are making substantial investments in companies with established product-market fit. In contrast, Kutcher and Beller are wagering on the opportunity upstream, supporting infrastructure and energy companies that later-stage AI giants will rely on, although it remains uncertain whether a firm without a public identity or disclosed fund size can compete with established deep tech investors.
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Ashton Kutcher is departing from Sound Ventures to establish a new venture capital firm alongside Morgan Beller.
Kutcher leaves Sound Ventures after 11 years to co-found a new company with former a16z partner Morgan Beller, focusing on early-stage investments in AI, energy, and deep technology.