Snap Alumni Launch Ghost Angels Fund to Empower Next-Gen Social Media Startups
A group of 20 former Snap employees has united to create Ghost Angels, a new investment fund dedicated to supporting the emerging wave of social media startups. Although the fund has chosen not to disclose the total capital raised to date, it has publicly confirmed backing at least five companies. Ghost Angels plans to deploy its remaining capital over the next year, targeting investments in at least 15 additional startups.
Founded in 2025 by Max Rivera, who previously led global partnerships at Snap, the fund seeks to formalize the growing network of Snap alumni active in angel investing. Rivera, now part of Microsoft’s AI lab, leads the fund alongside around 20 other founding members and investors. This group includes both current Snap employees and notable alumni such as Alexandra Levitt, who headed Snap’s corporate accelerator, and Will Wu, a founding member of Snap’s product and design teams.
Diverse Expertise Drives Investment Strategy
“We were intentional about the mix,” Rivera shared with TechCrunch, emphasizing Ghost Angels’ commitment to blending perspectives from former senior executives and those earlier in their careers. He noted that this diversity in thought and experience is essential to how the fund evaluates deals and supports founders effectively.
Reflecting on the rapid evolution of social media over the past decade, Rivera observed a significant shift in how startups operate today. “Founders are launching fast and iterating in public,” he explained, contrasting today’s leaner teams and rapid product cycles with the more traditional approaches from when he started at Snap nearly ten years ago.
Ghost Angels’ investment focus aligns with these trends, particularly emphasizing pre-seed to seed-stage startups that intersect AI with social media and consumer experiences. Rivera highlighted how the fundamental concepts of “social” and “media” are increasingly distinct in the current landscape.
Backing Innovation Beyond Traditional Social Media
According to Rivera, many consumers have grown disillusioned with today’s dominant social media platforms, which rely heavily on advertising and algorithm-driven content. This sentiment has fueled a shift toward niche communities and novel social experiences that better fulfill the original promise of truly connecting people in their lives.
Ghost Angels is investing in founders leveraging AI to creatively bridge this gap. On the social side, the fund supports startups applying AI to foster authentic connections. On the media side, it backs AI-native formats and generative creative tools spanning music, gaming, sports, and fashion. These innovations aim to dramatically reduce barriers to content creation and distribution, empowering a broader range of creators and audiences.
Rivera also noted experimentation with diverse monetization models beyond traditional ads, including subscriptions, token-based systems, usage-based pricing, and outcome-based approaches. Founder-led go-to-market (GTM) strategies are another key pillar, reflecting a belief that founders intimately understand their markets and audiences best.
As social media continues to evolve, funds like Ghost Angels exemplify how experienced founders and operators are channeling their expertise into nurturing the next generation of innovative platforms. Their hands-on involvement and strategic investment approach aim to revive the original ethos of social media while embracing cutting-edge AI technologies that redefine content creation and community building.
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