- Former OpenAI employee Joey Bertschler launches Volante Chain, a blockchain-based wage access platform.
- Volante Chain enables same-day wage payouts for employees at participating companies.
- The platform uses Artificial Intelligence to assess employer risk and defaults, with both automated and human oversight.
- Volante has raised about $2 million from private investors and is testing with users in Vietnam and Japan.
- Bertschler cites limited advancement opportunities at OpenAI as a reason for leaving, and he criticized the company’s shift away from openness.
Joey Bertschler, a former employee of OpenAI, has launched Volante Chain, a financial technology startup that uses blockchain to provide employees with same-day access to their wages. The platform is currently in testing stages with several thousand users in Vietnam and Japan.
According to Bertschler, Volante Chain allows workers at participating companies to receive their pay at the end of each workday instead of waiting for traditional monthly payroll cycles. Bertschler told Cointelegraph the platform enhances financial flexibility, especially for those living paycheck-to-paycheck.
Volante Chain incorporates artificial intelligence to evaluate which employers might default on payments and to help manage risk. Bertschler described the system as "hybrid," combining automated AI tools for pattern recognition with oversight from human reviewers and legal professionals. “There’s also semi-automation — some lawyers involved, some human oversight,” he said.
The company has raised about $2 million from private investors. Bertschler expects this funding to support the venture for up to five years due to its lean operations. The current deployment is at a minimum viable product stage, similar to a closed beta.
Bertschler transitioned from OpenAI to fintech after experiencing limited advancement opportunities as a non-U.S. employee. He stated that international staff were excluded from stock option plans and unable to showcase their work publicly, which limited their professional growth. “We were paid fair wages, but we didn’t get any stock options, and we couldn’t really rise in our roles,” Bertschler said.
Bertschler also expressed concern over OpenAI’s shift toward secrecy and profit focus following increased involvement from Microsoft. He argued that the company’s recent approach runs counter to its original principles. “You can absolutely call it closed AI,” Bertschler said, citing the company’s direction.
In May, it was reported that Microsoft began discussions with OpenAI to renegotiate their investment deal. OpenAI announced a shift from a for-profit model to a public benefit corporation, aiming to balance profit with broader public objectives. This change followed pushback from co-founders and early investors, including Elon Musk, over the company’s previous restructuring efforts.
For more details about OpenAI’s corporate changes, see their official announcement.
✅ Follow BITNEWSBOT on Telegram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X.com, and Google News for instant updates.
Previous Articles:
- Flodrix Botnet Exploits Critical Langflow Flaw CVE-2025-3248
- Luxembourg Issues €50M Digital Treasury Note via HSBC Blockchain
- Little Pepe and Kaspa Emerge as Top Undervalued Crypto Contenders
- Polymarket Traders Lower Odds of U.S. Strike on Iran After Talks
- Meta Launches Privacy-Focused Ads on WhatsApp Status Updates
