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In the world of venture capital funding 2025, speed often separates those who merely participate from those who set the pace. Jack Altman, co-founder of the $3 billion HR software company Lattice and brother to OpenAI’s chief executive officer Sam Altman, has just shown what is possible when vision meets network power.

This week, Jack announced the close of his second fund under Alt Capital, a $275 million vehicle dedicated to backing early-stage startups. The remarkable detail? From start to finish, it took him only one week to raise it.

A Big Leap From Fund One

Altman’s first solo fund, raised in early 2024, totaled $150 million. With that pool, he placed early bets on around 20 companies, including:

• David AI – a Y Combinator-backed company building speech model datasets.
• Owner.com – a unicorn that provides restaurant management and growth software.

The rapid deployment of that capital, combined with strong portfolio traction, set the stage for this much larger $275 million successor fund. For context, doubling fund size in less than a year is rare even among seasoned venture capitalists.

The Altman Network

Jack’s fundraising success is not occurring in isolation. The Altman family has become something of a venture powerhouse:

• Sam Altman served as president of Y Combinator, continues to make angel investments, and is, of course, leading OpenAI.
• Max Altman co-founded Saga Ventures, which raised a $125 million fund in 2024.

Jack himself stepped away from the chief executive officer role at Lattice in 2024 (he remains chairman) to focus on Alt Capital. His founder background and credibility in the startup ecosystem clearly played a role in securing commitments so quickly.

Notably, while Sam Altman has his own extensive investing record, the Wall Street Journal reports that he is not a limited partner in Jack’s new fund.

Why This Matters for Founders

For startup builders, Jack Altman’s lightning-fast raise underscores several important dynamics in today’s venture capital funding market:

• Strong networks matter. Being well-connected can dramatically reduce fundraising timelines, even in a cautious funding environment.
• Founder-turned-investors resonate. Limited partners increasingly trust investors who have built and scaled companies themselves.
• AI startup investment and enterprise tech remain hot. Many of Alt Capital’s early bets touch these sectors, and this new fund is expected to follow similar themes.

3 Lessons Early-Stage Founders Can Learn from Jack Altman’s Fundraise

1. Leverage Your Founder Story as Social Proof
   Jack did not just raise money because of who he knows—he raised it because he has done it before. His success building Lattice into a multi-billion-dollar company gave limited partners confidence that he understands founder challenges.
   • Founder takeaway: Your track record, even at smaller scale, is a powerful fundraising asset. Do not just pitch your idea—show evidence that you can execute.
2. Speed Comes from Relationships, Not Luck
   Raising $275 million in a week is only possible because relationships were nurtured long before the fund officially opened. Altman had built credibility and trust with investors over years.
   • Founder takeaway: Whether you are raising $500,000 or $50 million, build relationships with investors early. Share progress updates before you need capital so that when you do raise, it feels like a continuation, not a cold start.
3. Timing and Thematic Focus Matter
   Investors are hungry for exposure to the right themes at the right time. Altman’s bets in artificial intelligence startups, enterprise software, and infrastructure are perfectly aligned with current market excitement.
   • Founder takeaway: Align your fundraising story with macro trends. If you can position your startup within a rising category like AI startup investment or decentralized infrastructure, investor appetite will multiply.

Looking Ahead

The speed at which Alt Capital secured $275 million reflects both Jack Altman’s personal credibility and the continued appetite among investors for exposure to early-stage startups in fast-growing categories.

For entrepreneurs, this is a reminder that even in a market where venture capital funding in 2025 has slowed for many, capital still flows quickly to those who combine vision, execution, and network strength.

At ComeUpStartup.com, we will continue to follow how Alt Capital deploys this new fund and what it signals for the next wave of startup fundraising and innovation globally.