High‑Net Worth Families Bet Big on AI Startups

Family offices—investment arms of wealthy individuals and families—are pouring more money into AI companies than ever before. Even after a brief scare about an AI bubble, these investors stayed confident and poured capital into new ventures.

• Emerson Collective (run by Laurene Powell Jobs) joined a $1 billion funding round for World Labs, the firm behind Marble, a tool that lets people create 3D worlds with simple text or pictures.
• Azim Premji’s family office invested $315 million in Runway, a startup that makes AI‑generated videos.

According to data from Fintrx, family offices made 41 direct investments in February, almost all linked to AI. In the same month, the entire startup world raised $189 billion—an all‑time record—including $171 billion for AI projects alone. Big names like Anthropic, OpenAI and Waymo dominated the funding scene, while smaller firms such as World Labs also raised multi‑million dollars.

Other notable deals include Hillspire, the firm of former Google chief Eric Schmidt and his wife. They invested $150 million in Goodfire, a company that studies AI models to make them safer and more reliable. Schmidt has warned that AI can be hacked, but he remains hopeful about its long‑term benefits.

These investments show that wealthy families are still excited about AI’s future. They believe the potential returns justify the risks, and they’re willing to back both large and niche startups.