Jack Altman Is Ready for His Spotlight

Leaving behind his software unicorn, Jack Altman, 34, hopes to cement a reputation as a top investor after quiet past wagers on everything from Figma to Rippling to Flexport. Bountiful returns would offer him some further distance from his famous last name.

Few things matter more to Jack Altman than bedtime with the Altman siblings: the two-year-old daughter and four-year-old son he shares with his wife, Julia, who is pregnant with their third child.

“Childhood is such a short period. Maybe you get 10 years where your kids want nothing more than to be with you,” he said as we settled into the Altmans’ sunny Burlingame, Calif., dining room, its glass-paneled walls overlooking a backyard with a pool and a Minnie Mouse balloon fastened to a patio chair. “It’s meaningful to the kids, and it’s my favorite part of the day.”

He could often manage it while he was at Lattice, the software unicorn he co-founded and helmed as CEO until his transition in December to executive chair, though sometimes an important dinner or customer event would prevent it. It’s different these days. Lattice has grown up and needs him less, so he has shifted to venture investing after studying it at the elbow of his uber-famous older brother Sam Altman and doing it part-time while running Lattice. Earlier this year, he started Alt Capital, assembling a $150 million fund—about double the size of the last fund he raised from outside investors in 2021—off his discreet investing record in startups as varied as Figma, Rippling, Flexport and OpenDoor. Currently, he’s enjoying the greater flexibility to arrange his schedule around that of his toddlers as much as he can.