Laurene Powell Jobs is betting on these 11 AI startups

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News that Laurene Powell Jobs is investing in a new artificial intelligence “computing device” underlines her growing interest in AI startups, new data shows.

The Emerson Collective, Powell Jobs' family office, investment firm and philanthropy, has invested in at least 11 AI-related startups since 2022, according to data provided exclusively to CNBC by Fintrx, the private wealth intelligence platform.

Emerson's AI bets span the globe and industries, including a New York-based AI medical company, a San Jose, California-based image analyzer, a French developer of large language models, and a Norwegian maker of teacher-led AI presentations used.

The dollar amounts of Emerson's AI investments are not disclosed. According to Fintrx, the Emerson Collective has participated in AI funding rounds totaling more than $1 billion.

A representative for the Emerson Collective declined to comment.

Emerson does not disclose total assets under management. Powell Jobs, the philanthropist, investor and widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, has a net worth of $11.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Emerson focuses mainly on education, environment and healthcare. According to Finxtrx, Emerson has made more than 130 investments in total, with more than half in technology, 48 in healthcare and life sciences, and the remainder in energy, agriculture, education and social services, media and other categories. Raffi Krikorian, a former executive at Uber and Twitter, is Emerson's Chief Technology Officer.

The New York Times reported this week that Jony Ive, the celebrated Apple designer who worked closely with Steve Jobs and left the company in 2019, is teaming up with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to create a new “computing device” for using AI. Their venture aims to raise up to $1 billion by the end of the year, and according to the report, the Emerson Collective is a founding partner, along with Ive.

AI has become the most popular investment theme for family offices in 2024. According to the UBS Global Family Office Report, 78% of family offices surveyed plan to invest in AI over the next two to three years – the most for any asset class.

Powell Jobs started investing in AI even before OpenAI launched ChatGPT, which fueled today's AI investments and consumer craze. In June 2022, Emerson made an $80 million C-round investment in Proximie, a health technology company whose platform is used to connect operating rooms. In August 2022, it invested in a $14 million Series A round for Atropos Health, which provides physicians with clinical data.

Emerson went on to invest in AI startups around the world, including a $4.6 million seed round for Norway's Curipod, which helps teachers create interactive lessons, and a $415 million Series A round for Mistral, the French maker of large language models .

Emerson's two most recent AI investments are Formation Bio, a pharmaceutical AI company, which raised $372 million in June, and a $33 million follow-on round for Atropos.