Binds to the consensus sequence 5'-A[AT]T[AG]TTTGTTT-3' and acts as a transcriptional repressor. Also acts as a transcriptional activator. Promotes development of neural crest cells from neural tube progenitors. Restricts neural progenitor cells to the neural crest lineage while suppressing interneuron differentiation. Required for maintenance of pluripotent cells in the pre-implantation and peri-implantation stages of embryogenesis. Interacts with POU5F1. Expressed in premigratory and migrating neural crest cells in the early embryo and in motorneuron and interneuron progenitors in the developing spinal cord. During early embryogenesis, not expressed in unfertilized oocytes or fertilized one-cell embryos but detected in blastocysts.