OpenAI has hired the founding team behind Context.ai, a startup focused on building evaluation and analytics tools for AI models. Context.ai announced the move on Tuesday, stating that it will shut down its current products following the acqui-hire. While the exact terms of the deal were not shared, OpenAI confirmed the addition of the team.
In a message posted on Context.ai’s website, the company emphasized the importance of evaluations in creating high-quality AI applications. It noted that despite their necessity, building effective evaluation tools remains a complex task. After two years of developing analytics and evaluation solutions, the team expressed enthusiasm about continuing their work at OpenAI.
Context.ai was co-founded in 2023 by former Google employees Henry Scott-Green and Alex Gamble. That same year, the startup secured $3.5 million in seed funding from GV and Theory Ventures. The company gained attention for its dashboard tool, which allowed users to analyze AI model outputs, identify how well models answered questions, and share data via API. The platform grouped and tagged interactions to help developers better understand performance and user needs.
In an earlier interview, Scott-Green described a common concern among developers: not knowing how their models are used or how they perform. He highlighted that many developers see their models as “black boxes,” and Context.ai aimed to bring transparency and clarity through its analytics.
As of August 2023, Context.ai had six employees, though it’s unclear how many will join OpenAI. On social media, Scott-Green shared that he and Gamble will focus on building developer tools and model evaluations at OpenAI. According to his LinkedIn, he is now a product manager at the company, working on evaluation tools designed to help developers build more effective and reliable AI systems.
