Pre-Seed & Seed Venture Capital

Capital with CxO-level guidance attached

CXO Ventures backs early-stage founders in AgeTech and Defense Technology — two markets with very different growth dynamics and risk profiles, and both underserved by generalist investors. We bring our own capital and real operating experience to every investment.

About Us

Operators investing in operators

We started CXO Ventures because the best thing we can offer a founder isn't just capital — it's having been in their seat. We invest our own money, with no LP clock running, which means we make decisions when they make sense and stay in as long as the company needs us.

AgeTech and Defense Technology look very different on the surface, but they share something important: both are underserved by generalist investors, and both reward the kind of patient, domain-specific judgment that comes from actually working in these spaces.

We're flexible on structure — priced equity, SAFEs, convertible notes, SPVs, and LP participations. What stays constant is our commitment to being genuinely useful to every founder we back.

Principal Capital, No Constraints

We invest off our own balance sheet — no fund-life clocks, investment-period mandates, or advisory-committee approvals slowing things down.

Operating experience, not just advice

We've built, scaled, and sold companies. We know what it looks like when things are working and when they're not.

Security & technical depth

Hands-on background in IT infrastructure, data security, and compliance — useful in both regulated AgeTech and clearance-sensitive DefenseTech.

Room to follow on

We reserve capital to reinvest in the companies that are working. We don't disappear after the first check.

Investment Thesis

Two sectors. Deep conviction.

We invest in two areas where we have real experience and where most generalist VCs don't. That's not a marketing line — it's why we can be useful to founders in ways a generalist can't.

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AgeTech

Products and platforms built for an aging population and the people around them — memory and legacy, caregiving, estate stewardship, health, and independence. The growth here is real, it's demographic based on the aging population and largely predictable given increasing lifespans. It's a market that is historically underserved by founders and by investors.

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Defense Technology

Dual-use and defense-focused startups building hard technology for national security in areas such as sensing, signals, autonomy, communications, Internet of Military Things (IoMT), cyber, and AI. We are comfortable with longer technical timelines, government contracting dynamics, and clearance-gated teams that deter most generalist investors.

Portfolio

Companies we're proud to back

Direct Equity

Artifcts®

A SaaS and mobile platform for cataloging, preserving, and passing on the stories behind the objects, heirlooms, and keepsakes people own — keeping memories alive well beyond a lifetime. CXO Ventures holds a direct equity position; the AARP AgeTech Collaborative participates via a SAFE.

AgeTech · Legacy & Memory Preservation
SPV · Convertible Note

Skyline Instruments

A veteran-led distributed sensing company building integrated hardware and software to close the gap between detection and response. Focused on precision timing and synchronized sensing for environments where GPS is fragile, contested, or unavailable. Lead investor: LGL Group (NYSE: LGL).

DefenseTech · Sensing & Signals

Our Team

Founded by someone who's been there

Matt Ramsey

Matt Ramsey

Founder & Managing Director

After 39 years serving the US Government and two successful exits, Matt founded CXO Ventures to invest in "things that matter." He is the founder and former CEO of Excivity, Inc. (bootstrapped, 13+ years, acquired by BlueHalo/Arlington Capital Partners in 2020), and went on to serve as CIO at BlueHalo and then AV (NASDAQ: AVAV) following BlueHalo's merger with AeroVironment. He is currently CTO and board member at Artifcts. A Virginia Tech EE graduate with a Babson Certificate of Entrepreneurship, Matt brings deep expertise in security, IT infrastructure, and scaling technology businesses from the ground up.

About CXO Ventures

Built to back founders who build

CXO Ventures is a small, focused fund investing its own capital in AgeTech and Defense Technology at the pre-seed and seed stage. Every investment comes with hands-on CxO operating experience to guide and enable where possible.

We source investments exclusively through our own network and proprietary channels. We do not accept unsolicited pitches or open submissions.

Location New Hampshire
Focus AgeTech & DefenseTech
Stage Pre-Seed & Seed
LinkedIn mattramseybos