Yes, that’s a real headline.
Forbes has published a fascinating story about New Founding, a media and venture firm dedicated to investing in and supporting companies with a “Christian worldview” that explicitly oppose DEI and ESG initiatives. While this might sound like a fringe effort, it has some serious backing.
Forbes reveals that Marc Andreessen, cofounder of VC giant Andreesen Horowitz (a16z), is a key supporter of the fund. While Andreessen reportedly holds a “small stake,” his involvement obviously carries weight. With his reputation, it’s likely that other investors will follow his lead.
So, why does this matter to the adtech world? Well, New Founding’s venture arm has already begun investing in adtech as part of its broader strategy. See this passage from the article:
So far, it’s raised $3 million for its venture fund, a modest start. But it has made 10 investments in seed stage and series A companies, among them an education startup to help teachers start their own ‘micro schools,’ and an ad-tech company that helps gun manufacturers target consumers. For Presidio, a startup that recently raised a $4 million seed fund led by New Founding to provide Christian-branded, pro-life health insurance, the group has been an effective ally. “They are initiators of a pro-American, Christian movement,” CEO Daniel Cruz told Forbes, adding the group is “well connected and have helped us in formulating our strategy.
New Founding CEO Nate Fischer told Forbes these investments are the beginnings of a “parallel economy” offering conservative versions of mainstream services it views as too liberal, like Google’s ad-tech products. “There’s a large share of people who feel that their views are almost entirely absent from the institutions that are shaping the future,” Fischer explained. “And there’s a real acute need and hunger for alternatives.”
The adtech company mentioned is Armanet, which received an undisclosed investment from New Founding a year ago. Armanet connects publishers and platforms focused on guns, firearms, and ammunition with what they call “2A brands” (Second Amendment-focused brands) that sell related products. Through Armanet’s curated (!) publisher network, these brands can reach over 50 million “unique gun enthusiasts,” according to the company. Essentially, since Google, Facebook, and others prohibit ads for firearms and related products, Armanet is trying to fill that gap.
According to Forbes, New Founding is part of a broader “vibe shift” in Silicon Valley that leans pro-MAGA and positions itself as a counterpoint to what it feels is the tech industry’s embrace of “woke,” anti-tech, anti-capitalist ideology. (That shift was pretty clear during the election.)
Why This Matters:
A Crunchbase report earlier this year revealed that adtech startups in the U.S. have seen a massive drop in venture funding, with 2024 likely to be the slowest year for funding in over a decade. The decline is part of a larger trend: since 2015, investment and deal volume in adtech has steadily decreased. (Eric Franchi can’t invest in everyone, I guess!)
However, the full-year numbers aren’t available yet, and anecdotally, there seemed to be more investment announcements as the year went on. There was also a noticeable uptick in exits, maybe reflecting the challenges of raising capital in the current market.
In any case, a new, albeit small, player is entering the space via New Founding. Interestingly, media has been an area where the conservative movement has successfully built a “parallel economy,” as described in Forbes, with platforms like Rumble, Truth Social, and now even X.
In 2025, it will be interesting to see if existing adtech startups align with New Founding for capital or if a new crop of startups emerges specifically to secure backing from firms like New Founding. (The latter seems more likely.)
Experts React:
Here’s an worthwhile passage from David Jeans’ Forbes article:
New Founding started as a “dissident” organization, Fischer said, acknowledging that he has leaned into provocation. He even launched a venture last year with an online personality who has a history of posting swastikas and other Nazi imagery (which he has previously described as “ironic trolling” as opposed to “genuine Nazi belief”). “My thesis from the beginning was to be public and be online, and that would attract people,” he said. “Many people are looking for something that has been censored by the mainstream and by being public about our interest in that, we will have something attractive that is scarce in the world.”
Also, here’s a helpful thread from a Partner at New Founding on why they invested in Armanet:
Our Take:
While not directly related, earlier today, Brendan Carr, the incoming FCC commissioner, sent a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger stating, “Americans no longer trust the national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly.”
This, plus New Founding, is part of a bigger pattern: with Donald Trump returning to office next year, conservatives are going to push back aggressively against perceived injustices, while also feeling empowered to build their own systems. This effort will extend across media, advertising, and other sectors where they see opportunities to advance their ideology and values-based businesses.
Will it succeed? It’s certainly possible. Conservative media has already made massive inroads with new platforms and new social networks. Why not try and own more of the adtech stack.
