A group of 20 former Snap employees has launched a new angel fund called Ghost Angels. The goal? To back startups building the next generation of social media and consumer AI tools.

Ghost Angels focuses on early-stage companies, mostly at pre-seed and seed rounds. The fund has already invested in five startups. It plans to back at least 15 more within the next year. The total size of the fund remains private.

Max Rivera, who once led global partnerships at Snap, started Ghost Angels in 2025. He now works at Microsoft’s AI division. Rivera created the fund to formalize a growing community of Snap alumni who were already investing individually.

The group includes other Snap veterans like Alexandra Levitt, who ran Snap’s corporate accelerator, and Will Wu, a founding member of Snap’s product and design teams. A few current Snap employees are also part of the fund. Rivera says they were intentional about mixing experience levels to bring diverse perspectives.

Why “Social” and “Media” Are Splitting

Ghost Angels’ core thesis is that “social” and “media” are no longer one thing. They have diverged into two distinct categories. Today’s social media platforms often focus on ad-driven algorithms pushing content and recommendations. This model, Rivera says, has left many users disappointed.

Founders backed by Ghost Angels are building AI-native social platforms to bring back the original promise of social media: connecting people in their real lives. These apps focus on genuine human interaction, not just content feeds designed to maximize engagement.

On the media side, the fund supports startups creating AI-powered content tools. These tools help produce and distribute music, gaming experiences, sports content, fashion, and more. AI is lowering the barriers for creators, enabling new types of creative expression and reach.

New Ways Founders Build and Monetize

Since Rivera joined Snap nearly ten years ago, the startup world has changed a lot. Teams are leaner. Founders launch fast and publicly iterate on their products. This approach lets them adapt quickly and find product-market fit early.

Monetization models have also evolved. Instead of relying mostly on ads, startups are experimenting with subscriptions, token-based payments, usage fees, and even outcome-based pricing. Founders lead go-to-market strategies, putting themselves front and center.

This shift away from ads aligns with Ghost Angels’ view that social and media need different approaches. Meta’s recent launch of Forum, a standalone app spun out from Facebook Groups, shows big players feel the same way. Forum targets niche communities, similar to what Ghost Angels believes will define the next wave of social media.

Molly DeWolf Swenson, CEO of one of Ghost Angels’ portfolio companies, says the Snap alumni network brings deep understanding and insight. That expertise helps founders navigate the tricky social media landscape and avoid past mistakes.

Ghost Angels bets that winners in social media will build native AI experiences from the ground up. They won’t just retrofit old platforms with AI features. This mindset matches the broader trend in tech, where AI-native startups create entirely new categories.

Snap’s culture of experimentation, early bets on ephemeral content, and augmented reality helped shape a generation of product thinkers. They now see a new cycle forming around AI and social media. Ghost Angels is their way to back that future.