ex/ante Research
Investment Thesis
ex/ante is the first venture fund dedicated to "agentic technology" — tools that support human agency by increasing privacy, security, and information integrity. Founded by Zoe Weinberg (a Schmidt Futures spinout), the fund's thesis is rooted in the belief that surveillance capitalism and digital authoritarianism pose existential threats to democratic societies. ex/ante backs founders building technology that restores control to individuals over their own data, assets, and information flows.
The fund frames its investment philosophy around three core beliefs: (1) surveillance capitalism and digital authoritarianism threaten digital rights; (2) democratic societies require technology that actively advances human agency; and (3) individuals should control their own data, assets, and information. This makes ex/ante distinct from traditional govtech, civic tech, or defense tech funds — it takes a broader approach to protecting democracy through commercial technology.
Sector Focus
ex/ante invests across five overlapping domains within its "agentic tech" thesis:
Privacy & Data Ownership: User-controlled encryption, zero-knowledge proofs, distributed data infrastructure, and tools that prevent unauthorized data harvesting. Portfolio examples: Cyphlens, Lockr, Common Tools, n0.
Security & Identity: Cybersecurity infrastructure, digital identity, authentication for AI agents, and access management. Portfolio examples: Reality Defender (deepfake detection), Dapple Security, AccessGrid, Anon, Cape.
Information Integrity: Media forensics, anti-disinformation tools, narrative tracking, and algorithmic transparency. Portfolio examples: Reality Defender, Pendulum.
Fintech & Self-Custody: Self-sovereign financial tools, crypto security, and blockchain infrastructure that returns financial control to users. Portfolio examples: Webacy, Quadrillion, Datum.
Agentic AI Infrastructure: AI tools that enhance human decision-making and agency, including privacy-preserving AI development tools. Portfolio examples: Tasker AI, Hound Dog, General Translation.
ex/ante is explicitly tech-agnostic — they invest across AI/ML, web3, data infrastructure, cybersecurity, enterprise, and fintech as long as the company advances human agency.
Stage Focus
ex/ante invests at Pre-Seed and Seed stages. They look to be first institutional capital or co-lead early rounds.
- Pre-Seed: $500K checks for teams developing early prototypes
- Seed: $500K–$1M for teams with working product and early traction
They have occasionally deployed follow-on reserves into later rounds for portfolio companies (e.g., Reality Defender's Series A in 2023).
Check Size
Typical check size: $500,000 to $1,000,000
Given the $33M Fund I, they target 25–35 investments total with reserves. The fund emphasizes quality over quantity and deep conviction in founders.
Lead Tendency
ex/ante leads or co-leads most of their investments. Given their pre-seed and seed focus, they often serve as the lead institutional investor in a round, providing credibility alongside their extensive network.
Fund Status & Recent Activity
exante closed Fund I ($33M) in November 2023, with a standout LP roster for a first-time manager: Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, Fred Wilson (USV), Kirsten Green (Forerunner), Cendana Capital, Protocol Labs, Ford Foundation, and The Klarman Family Foundation. The fund was spun out from Schmidt Futures (Eric Schmidt's philanthropic venture arm).
As of March 2026, ex/ante continues to actively deploy from Fund I. Their latest known investment was in Octet (March 2026). Portfolio companies span 18+ companies across the privacy, security, and agentic AI landscape.
In February 2025, ex/ante (with support from the Ford Foundation) launched Builder Blueprints — a free resource library helping startup founders implement strong privacy, security, and data governance policies.
Portfolio Highlights
Notable portfolio companies include:
- Reality Defender: Enterprise deepfake and AI-generated content detection; raised $15M Series A (DCVC-led) and $33M expanded Series A
- Anon: AI agent authentication — enabling AI tools to take actions on behalf of users with proper identity controls
- Cape: Privacy-first mobile carrier protecting user identity and location data
- Lockr: Consumer identity platform managing app permissions and data sharing
- Webacy: Self-custody crypto security and wallet protection tools
- AccessGrid: Mobile access control turning phones into secure digital keys (raised $4.4M, Oct 2025)
- Pendulum: Narrative intelligence and information integrity platform
- Tasker AI: Agentic AI task execution platform
- Hound Dog: Privacy testing and PII detection for developer teams
- Dapple Security: Security platform for enterprise agentic AI deployments
Team
Zoe Weinberg, General Partner & Founder: Formerly at Schmidt Futures (Eric Schmidt's philanthropic initiative), National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, Google AI, World Bank IFC, and Goldman Sachs. JD from Yale Law School, MBA from Stanford GSB, BA from Harvard College. Has been published in the NY Times and Foreign Affairs; co-hosts the "Next in Foreign Policy" podcast. She coined the term "agentic technology" with Anastasia Uglova.
Michael Mosier, Partner: Co-founder of Arktouros (legal boutique for emergent technology). Former in-house counsel at Espresso Systems and Chainalysis. Former Acting Director of U.S. Treasury's FinCEN. Served at DOJ and the White House NSC. Adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Deep expertise at the intersection of crypto, national security, and financial regulation.
Matt Hawes, Principal: Led AI investing at 645 Ventures; advisor at Bain & Company and Insight Partners. BA in Psychology and Computer Science from Harvard. Chapter Lead for BLCK VC.
Farhan Abrol, Partner: Former Head of Public Health at Meta. Early engineer and product leader at Pure Storage (0→IPO); holds 20+ patents. Advises nonprofits on AI deployment in healthcare through the Agency Fund.
Anastasia Uglova, Ecosystem Partner: Specialist Leader at Deloitte (AI security and governance). Founder of Tethics & Chill; host of "The Privacy Podcast." M.S. Information Security and Privacy (UT Austin), BA Government and International Relations (Cornell). Koch and John Stuart Mill fellow.
Founder Preferences
ex/ante backs "renegade" founders with conviction around privacy, security, and democratic values. They favor technical founders with deep domain expertise in their focus areas. Given the policy-heavy backgrounds of the GP team (Treasury, DOJ, Schmidt Futures), they add particular value to founders navigating regulatory complexity. The fund welcomes direct applications and does not require warm introductions.
Geographic Focus
Primarily United States, with some portfolio companies in Brazil. ex/ante is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.
Decision Process
ex/ante operates as a partnership with Zoe Weinberg and Michael Mosier as the two primary decision-makers, supported by Matt Hawes and Farhan Abrol on the investment team. Given the small team and fund size, decisions can move quickly for the right opportunity.
Notable LPs & Ecosystem
The LP base reflects the fund's thesis: Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon (crypto/tech believers), Fred Wilson and Kirsten Green (legendary seed investors), Cendana Capital (fund-of-funds), Protocol Labs (Web3 protocol company), Ford Foundation (mission-driven philanthropy), and the Klarman Family Foundation. This mix of traditional VC, Web3, and mission-driven capital reinforces ex/ante's crossover position.