OpenAI functions as a development partner for European startups across all stages, from those seeking initial funding through established scale-ups. The company describes itself as a "catalyst" for the continent's startup ecosystem, even as it navigates what one of its top regional leaders characterizes as "tension" with startup clients over OpenAI's own forays into application-layer products.
Tricia Troth, head of go-to-market for startups in EMEA at OpenAI, addressed concerns about the company potentially shifting away from selling AI model access toward building and owning applications itself. "We are here to be the catalyst for most of these startups. That is what we want to do. We actually work very closely with a lot of startups where we see that kind of tension, bringing them into the fold," Troth said.
Swedish legal technology company Legora exemplifies this dynamic. OpenAI launched Astra for Law, its own legal-focused offering, earlier this year—yet the two organizations jointly developed a legal plug-in together, illustrating how OpenAI manages relationships with startups in spaces where it also competes.
Industry observers warn that European startups operating in the AI application layer face mounting pressure from both OpenAI and Anthropic as these model-building giants increasingly pursue ownership of the software built atop their technology rather than remaining pure infrastructure providers.
Supporting startups across multiple dimensions
Speaking at OpenAI Developer Day, the company's flagship developer conference held in London, Troth outlined how startups leverage OpenAI's technology in two primary ways. Some extend existing business models with AI capabilities, while others construct entirely new offerings around AI-native design. "I would say actually it was it was a bit of both. I have seen a number of customers coming out and working on existing business models. I think the ones that are most interesting to us though that are building AI natively into their products and services and finding completely new ways to do things. So, the likes of Legora and Wordsmith," she explained.
OpenAI's startup division comprises former founders, early-stage startup employees and former venture capitalists. The team provides startups with model access, product development assistance, investor introductions and developer connections. Support encompasses technical guidance, engineering services, AI model fine-tuning, marketing strategy and customer acquisition tactics.
The company engages startups at every maturity level, from pre-seed stage through established scale-ups such as Lovable and Legora. OpenAI maintains formal partnerships with venture capital firms, incubators, accelerators and academic institutions. When asked about specific VC relationships, Troth declined to provide names but described the scope of collaboration: "We do partner very closely with several different venture capital firms, from the tier ones to some of the incubators, to the accelerators, to academia. Essentially, we run a series of programmes with them, just to say, 'which startups are you working with? Which founders are building something that is AI native that can really benefit from OpenAI? And then we kind of double down and help some of those."
Recent product announcements
At Developer Day, OpenAI highlighted several recent advances, including expanded capabilities for Codex, its engineering agent, and the introduction of Dots, a new AI assistant designed to autonomously execute tasks on behalf of users. The conference featured presentations from AI-focused startups including Lovable, Synthesia and Granola.
Source: Tech.eu
