Inside OpenAI’s New Founder Experience Team

InnovationEnterprise TechInside OpenAI’s New Founder Experience TeamByTim Keary,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Tim Keary is a reporter covering enterprise AI adoption.Follow AuthorMay 26, 2026, 03:00pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Article on OpenAI's new Founder Experience team. Image depicts OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images).Getty ImagesOpenAI has set its sights firmly on the startup community. Just last week, during a Y Combinator event in San Francisco, Sam Altman offered $2 million worth of tokens to each startup in the spring and summer batches in exchange for equity.Altman’s announcement comes the same week as the company appointed Laura Modiano as its inaugural Founder Experience lead. According to Modiano, who attended the Y Combinator event, the founder experience team will be “focused on helping founders move fast," and providing them with support across all growth stages. The new team will work with startup founders to provide resources and support to help them better leverage OpenAI products. It highlights that the company isn’t just courting the enterprise market, but a new wave of AI-first companies and founders too. Introducing The Founder Experience Team The path to finding value from AI isn’t always simple. As MIT’s widely cited study found in 2025, 95% of AI initiatives fail to deliver a measurable ROI. OpenAI’s move to work closer alongside the startup community represents an attempt to help support third party companies get better value from their AI investments. In an exclusive video interview, Modiano shared some initial details about the newly formed Founder Experience team. “This is an effort that we want to put proper resourcing behind, so that we can truly be helpful to founders everywhere.” MORE FOR YOU“As a team and as a company, we really see the potential an...