I applied. I never had high hopes of getting accepted, but never receiving confirmation of my application submission nor an email notifying me I wasn’t accepted came across as inconsiderate and unprofessional. I’m disappointed but not entirely surprised given the program felt both ambiguous (about what they were looking for) and very wide net being cast (“founders at the very earliest stages—whether you’re pre-idea, just starting out, or preparing to launch a company”).
If I recall correctly, it was explicit somewhere that they would only contact you if you were accepted. With the volume of applications they likely got, I give them some grace—I think it’s great they have a program like that at all.
We both weren't sure if my project was a good fit for the program. It was still a positive experience, and they were nice enough to offer me an intro to a more relevant team within OpenAI.
I couldn't quite figure out the goal of Grove. The line about "pre-idea" individuals, and of course the referral offer, made me feel that it's more of a hiring pipeline and not a traditional incubator. But we'll see when they announce the cohort.