Sam Altman’s former roommate, Stripe employee #30, co-lead of TrialSpark’s $156M Series C, co-founder of Physical Intelligence ($5.6B AI robotics), and the solo capitalist who has co-invested with Altman across 200+ deals.
Bio
Lachy Groom is a 31-year-old Australian entrepreneur, angel investor, and co-founder of Physical Intelligence — an AI robotics company valued at $5.6 billion. He is the sole general partner of LGF, an investment firm through which he has backed over 200 startups including Figma, Notion, Ramp, Lattice, and Superhuman. He is a frequent co-investor with Sam Altman and has been described as “a force to reckon with” in Silicon Valley. [1][2][3]
Groom was born in Perth, Western Australia and began coding in HTML/CSS at age 11. Before finishing high school, he founded and sold several online businesses — including PSDtoWP (Photoshop-to-WordPress conversions), iPadCaseFinder, PAGGStack (nutritional supplements e-commerce), CardNap (discount gift cards), and TheWP.co. He skipped university entirely and joined Stripe as its 30th employee, where he led Stripe Issuing, ran payments product and partnership teams (overseeing relationships with Visa, Mastercard, and American Express), and led Stripe’s international expansion into Singapore, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. [1][4][5]
After leaving Stripe in 2018, Groom adopted the solo capitalist model — writing large checks ($100K-$500K) into a small number of high-conviction companies rather than spraying small bets across hundreds. His investment thesis centers on tools that users and developers love organically, not software they’re forced to use. TechCrunch named him one of Silicon Valley’s most active solo VCs by 2021. [3][6][7]
In November 2025, Groom’s San Francisco home was targeted in an armed robbery by thieves disguised as delivery workers, resulting in the theft of $11 million in cryptocurrency from a roommate. Multiple outlets noted that Groom’s residence was previously shared with Sam Altman. [2][8]
Basic Information
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Lachy Groom |
| Born | ~1994/1995, Perth, Western Australia |
| Education | None. Skipped university. Self-taught from age 11. |
| Current Roles | Sole GP, LGF (investment firm); Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Physical Intelligence Inc. |
| Investment Count | 216+ (per PitchBook) [5] |
| Net Worth | Undisclosed. Significant — early Stripe equity ($95B+ valuation) + portfolio returns. |
| Altman Connection | Former roommate. [2][8] |
| Stripe Connection | Employee #30 (2014-2018). Head of Issuing. International expansion lead. |
Network Connections
| Connection | Nature | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Altman | Former roommate. Co-led TrialSpark Series C ($156M, Sep 2021). Frequent co-investor. | The most personal connection in the investor network. Living together precedes the investment relationship. |
| Stripe | Employee #30. Altman holds $633M Stripe stake (trial exhibit). Brockman came from Stripe to OpenAI. Formation Bio partnered with Stripe on ACP. | The Stripe pipeline: Groom (investor) + Brockman (co-founder) + Altman (investor) all connected through the same company. |
| Physical Intelligence | Co-founded 2024. $600M raised. $5.6B valuation. | AI robotics — intersection of Altman’s AI interests and Groom’s investment thesis. |
| Beacon AI | Co-led seed with Altman (through both Apollo Projects AND Hydrazine Capital). | Military/defense AI. Dual-use. Two Altman vehicles + Groom in the same deal. |
Investigative Findings
Finding 1: The Roommate-to-Co-Lead Pipeline
Groom’s relationship with Altman began as roommates — the most informal, trust-based connection possible. This personal relationship then produced a co-lead investment of $156M in TrialSpark’s Series C (September 2021). [2][8][9]
The roommate-to-co-investor pipeline means the TrialSpark Series C wasn’t two independent investors independently arriving at the same investment thesis. It was two people who shared a home making a joint investment in a company that had received a $1M grant from one of their nonprofits (OpenResearch → TrialSpark for Project Covalence) and was backed by the other’s former employer’s investors (Sequoia, which invested in both Stripe and TrialSpark).
Finding 2: The Stripe Nexus
Groom was Stripe employee #30. Altman holds a $633M Stripe stake. Brockman went from Stripe to co-found OpenAI with Altman. Formation Bio partnered with Stripe on the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP). Lachy Groom co-led the investment in the company (TrialSpark/Formation Bio) that would later partner with Stripe through Altman’s OpenAI. [5][9]
The personnel and capital flows run: Stripe → Groom (employee/investor) → TrialSpark co-lead → Formation Bio. Stripe → Brockman → OpenAI. Stripe → ACP → Formation Bio + OpenAI. The same company (Stripe) produced the investor (Groom), the co-founder (Brockman), and the commercial infrastructure (ACP) for the network’s pharmaceutical arm.
Finding 3: The Beacon AI Double-Vehicle Deal
In Beacon AI’s seed round (November 2021), Altman invested through BOTH Apollo Projects AND Hydrazine Capital simultaneously — two separate investment vehicles in the same deal. Groom co-led alongside both Altman vehicles. [10] This is the only documented instance where two Altman vehicles and Groom converge in a single round, and it’s a defense/military AI company (“R2-D2 for pilots”) with dual-use applications.
Nodes / Open Questions
- When did Groom and Altman become roommates? Before or after Stripe? Before or after the TrialSpark investment? The timeline of the personal relationship determines whether the investment relationship was an extension of friendship or vice versa.
- Does Groom hold equity in OpenAI? As a frequent Altman co-investor and former Stripe colleague of Brockman, he would be a natural angel investor in OpenAI’s early structure.
- Physical Intelligence — does it use OpenAI technology? A $5.6B AI robotics company co-founded by Altman’s former roommate. If PI uses OpenAI’s models or API, that’s another captive vendor relationship (Method C).
- The $11M crypto robbery (November 2025): The robbery targeted a roommate’s crypto wallet, not Groom’s personal assets. Who was the roommate? Was this connected to any network-adjacent activity?
- What is the full list of Groom-Altman co-investments? “Frequent co-investor” has been described in multiple sources but the complete overlap hasn’t been mapped.
Sources
- [Archive] Wikipedia — Lachy Groom (Perth, Stripe #30, LGF, Physical Intelligence): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachy_Groom
- [Archive] KuCoin — “Lachy Groom, a 31-year-old Australian entrepreneur and former roommate of Sam Altman”: https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/lachy-groom-s-impressive-career-and-ai-robot-startup-amid-robbery-incident
- [Archive] PitchBook — “Solo VCs are changing the venture game” — Groom 40+ investments by 2021: https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/how-solo-vcs-are-changing-the-venture-game
- [Archive] TechFlow — Groom career from Perth coding to Physical Intelligence: https://www.techflowpost.com/en-US/article/29306
- [Archive] PitchBook — Lachy Groom investment portfolio, 216 investments, Stripe Issuing: https://pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/268764-04
- [Archive] Hustle Fund — Lachy Groom investment strategy analysis (sniper vs spray-and-pray): https://www.hustlefund.vc/post/lachy-groom-investments-how-stripes-former-executive-became-one-of-the-best-angel-investors-in-tech
- [Archive] Prime Gazette — Groom as “frequent co-investor with Sam Altman,” 200+ startups: https://primegazette.org/lachy-groom/
- [Archive] New York Post (via TechFlow) — SF home robbery, $11M crypto stolen, former Altman roommate: https://www.techflowpost.com/en-US/article/29306
- [Archive] Prior investigation sessions — TrialSpark Series C co-led by Altman + Lachy Groom ($156M, Sep 2021). Confirmed from Crunchbase and Healthcare Weekly.
- [Archive] Prior investigation sessions — Beacon AI seed: Altman through both Apollo Projects and Hydrazine Capital, Groom co-lead. Confirmed.
This analysis does not constitute evidence of illegal action. The opinions expressed here are the professional opinions and analytical conclusions of the author, a published corporate ethics researcher and analyst specializing in business leadership ethics, governance structures, and nonprofit compliance. Readers are encouraged to examine the primary sources cited above and draw their own conclusions.
A conflict does not become less important because it was routed through a quieter entity. It becomes more important to map.
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