Former Snap Executives Launch Ghost Angels Investment Fund

A group of 20 former Snap employees has launched a new investment fund, Ghost Angels, to back the next generation of social media and consumer technology startups. While the fund has not disclosed the amount of capital raised so far, it says it has already invested in at least five companies and plans to deploy the remainder of its capital into approximately 15 additional startups over the next year.

Ghost Angels was founded in 2025 by Max Rivera, who previously led global partnerships at Snap. The fund was created to formalise an already active community of Snap alumni who had been investing in early-stage startups together. Although Rivera manages the initiative, the network includes around 20 founding members and investors, including both former and current Snap employees.

Among the participants are former Snap executive Alexandra Levitt, who previously oversaw the company’s accelerator program, and Will Wu, an early member of Snap’s product and design team.

Rivera, who now works within Microsoft’s AI division, said the group intentionally assembled members with a wide range of experiences and career stages. According to him, combining senior executives with younger professionals helps provide diverse perspectives when evaluating investment opportunities and advising founders.

The startup environment has changed significantly since Rivera first joined Snap nearly a decade ago. He noted that modern startups often operate with leaner teams, while founders launch products more quickly and refine them in public as they gather feedback.

Rivera also pointed to the rise of alternative monetisation models. Beyond traditional advertising, many startups are exploring subscriptions, token-based pricing, usage-based revenue structures, and outcome-driven business models. Founder-led go-to-market strategies have also become increasingly important for building and scaling companies.

Molly DeWolf Swenson, co-founder and CEO of Ghost Angels portfolio company Mozi, said the Snap alum network provides valuable expertise, as many members have deep experience in the social and consumer technology sectors.

The fund primarily invests in pre-seed and seed-stage AI startups operating in consumer technology and social media. Rivera believes one of the biggest developments in the industry is the growing separation between “social” and “media.”

According to him, many modern social platforms rely heavily on advertising and algorithm-driven content distribution, causing some users to feel disconnected from the original goal of social networking: building meaningful relationships and connections.

Rivera said Ghost Angels is particularly interested in founders who use AI to create new forms of social interaction, as well as in startups developing AI-native media formats and creative tools. These innovations span areas such as music, gaming, sports, and fashion, where artificial intelligence is making content creation and distribution more accessible than ever before.

As the social media landscape continues to evolve, Ghost Angels aims to help support entrepreneurs building the next generation of consumer experiences powered by AI and emerging technologies.