OpenAI’s TBPN acquisition rooted in decade-long founder ties, says John Coogan

OpenAI’s acquisition of TBPN is rooted in a long-standing relationship between the show’s cofounder John Coogan and OpenAI chief Sam Altman. The relationship dates back roughly 13 years, when Altman invested in Soylent, Coogan’s first startup, in 2013.

“When I reflect on my career… it makes a lot of sense,” Coogan said during a recent TBPN episode announcing the development. “This is a plot twist.”

Altman invested in Coogan’s startup


Coogan built Soylent in 2012 alongside Rob Rhinehart, Matt Cauble, and David Renteln. The company became one of Silicon Valley’s most visible consumer startups, raising $1.5 million in seed funding from investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Lerer Ventures, and Initialized Capital. Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, Garry Tan (partner at Initialized Capital, now CEO of Y Combinator), and YC partner Harj Taggar also participated in the round.

Sam Altman invested in Soylent through Hydrazine Capital, a venture firm he co-founded in 2012 with his brother Jack Altman.

Coogan added that Altman stepped in during a difficult financing process, resolving a deadlock within minutes and leaving a lasting impression of a “founder-friendly” operator.

"We got in a really serious logjam during financing. I wrote him an email… and he was able to completely resolve everything," Coogan said, recalling that period.

Coogan-Altman relationship continued

Their relationship continued as Lucy, the second company Coogan founded, was backed by Y Combinator, where Altman served as president from 2014 to 2019.

Coogan subsequently joined Founders Fund as an entrepreneur-in-residence, where he witnessed first-hand the surge of investment in OpenAI following the launch of ChatGPT. He described that as having a “front row seat” to OpenAI’s funding momentum in late 2022 and early 2023.

When TBPN began to gain traction, Altman was among the first high-profile guests invited to the show.

Coogan and the other cofounder Jordi Hays said they expect the relationship with OpenAI to continue, alongside broader participation from across the technology industry.

OpenAI has indicated that TBPN will remain editorially independent, retaining control over programming, guest selection, and production. “Pretty much everything is going to stay exactly the same,” Coogan said.

Also Read: How OpenAI’s $122 billion fundraise stacks up against rivals

Born during the pandemic

TBPN began as a stripped-down production during the pandemic, initially conceived as a way for the founders to connect with other entrepreneurs in the absence of in-person events.

“It’s been roughly 16 months since we put out the first episode. It was just the two of us… a couple (of) cameras, a couple (of) microphones,” Hays said.

The show initially ran without guests. “We did something like 50 episodes without any guests. We thought we would just do that forever. I wasn’t thinking of it as a media business, it was a way to have conversations and meet people,” Coogan explained.

Since then, TBPN has evolved into a daily live broadcast spanning multiple formats, including long-form discussions, short clips, and newsletters.

Despite the intensity of producing a three-hour live show each day, the founders described a high level of alignment in decision-making.

“I didn’t know this special (kind) of a business relationship was possible,” Hays said. “We’ve had disagreements… but stayed perfectly aligned. That’s somewhat of a miracle.”

Hays founded Branded Native in 2018, a YouTube-focussed advertising network. In 2021, he built Capital, a fintech platform designed to simplify fundraising and banking for startups. A few years later in 2024, he founded Rorra, a premium water filtration brand.