Dave Rogenmoser, the co-founder of the generative AI startup Jasper, announced his resignation as CEO today. This decision comes just two months after he revealed staff reductions at the startup, which describes itself as an AI copilot for marketing teams. Jasper had secured a significant $125 million funding round less than a year ago, reaching a valuation of $1.5 billion. This made it one of the first ‘GPT wrappers’ to achieve unicorn status.
Explaining his decision, Dave stated that he has always been a zero to one entrepreneur who loves building from the ground up, “Running a 175 person growing company isn’t my greatest gift to the world. And I’ve realized that’s totally okay. I need to do what I do best.”
He stated that it is not a decision he made lightly, “I love Jasper and believe in our mission deeply. We have a massive opportunity ahead. But sometimes, loving your company means knowing when to pass the baton for the next leg of the race.”
“Over the past year, we have shifted our focus from being a writing assistant to becoming a true AI copilot for marketing teams. Specifically, we’ve evolved into a platform that mid-market and enterprise businesses can rely on for on-brand, high-performing marketing content. These are our fastest-growing segments, and we love building for them.”
The entrepreneur who founded Jasper in 2020, following multiple pivots, said that he has spent a lot of time reflecting on the “transition from a hot startup to an enduring enterprise-grade scale-up” and realized that the company needs someone with prior experience in this journey.
As he moves into a chairman role, Dave pledged to work closely with the newly appointed CEO, Timothy Young, to ensure a seamless transition.
Timothy previously served as President at Dropbox, reporting to company’s co-founder and CEO Drew Houston, and leading its R&D and GTM functions, from late 2020 to March 2023. Before joining Dropbox, he held the position of VP of Product & Engineering at VMware.
Sharing his enthusiasm, Timothy stated, “I’m excited to step into the role of CEO at Jasper. Building tools and platforms that redefine work has always been my north star. From my tenure at Dropbox, I recognized how content is central to organizations. With Jasper, we can revolutionize how marketing teams produce, personalize, and deliver on-brand content to their clients and partners.”
Highlighting Timothy’s aptness for the CEO role, Dave commented, “He’s an outstanding cultural fit. A wonderful person with a track record of scaling successful companies. He’s passionate about AI and Jasper, extremely intelligent, deeply cares for people, loves to win, is a former founder, and a proven executive. He’s eager to make a significant impact.”
Having raised over $130 million from Insight Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, IVP, Coatue, and HubSpot Ventures, Jasper is one of the highest-valued AI startups in the world.
