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Zagger — Pre-Round
In Conversation Fund: StoryHouse Fund II  ·  Round Size: $300K–$500K
Dossier generated 2026-06-11 by /deal-dossier  ·  Deal record: recIFtRfiKA4Ok9QP  ·  Source: Airtable appjxAR3LPe3fkHOp

One-Liner & Thesis

A privacy-first “AI strategy in a box” for enterprises in regulated and data-sensitive verticals. Zagger positions itself as the data-management and worker-interface layer for AI-enabled businesses, leading with sovereign deployment (customer data stays under customer control, no shared-model training, private LLM option) so it can sell where generic AI tooling cannot.

The team claims six design partners engaged in the last ~6 weeks, with two converting toward signed contracts across government and insurance brokerage. They are raising $300K–$500K to prove the sale is repeatable, then plan a larger round. Only one of three co-founders is full-time today, and none has a deeply differentiated AI-infrastructure background; the wedge is execution-on-trust rather than technical novelty in a crowded market.

Deal Box

Round Size
$300K–$500K (target)
Lead Investor
None yet — just opened
Fund
StoryHouse Fund II
Funding Round
Pre-Round

Company Snapshot

Sector
AI, Data
Location
Bay Area, California
Year Founded
2026
Status
Private
Website
zagger.ai

Founders

Daniel Burwen
Co-Founder, Chief Communications Officer
Pitzer ’02 (Sociology and Art). 20+ year career across strategy, communications, creative production, and emerging-tech consulting at Booz Allen, Jaunt XR, Cognito Comics, EA, and Activision. Drives sales and partnerships at Zagger; spun out the company from a co-founder’s consulting studio in January 2026.
Josh Rose
Co-Founder
16 years in consulting; runs a studio that produced Zagger’s first build for a paying client. Product-focused, less sales-oriented; currently full-time on Zagger.
CTO (Co-Founder)
Co-Founder, CTO
33-year relationship with co-founder; former games industry. Currently part-time, with stated intent to shift full-time.

Open Questions & Risks

Next Steps

Latest Meeting Notes

2026-06-10 First call Generic positioning, thin team, leans pass

Introductory call with Daniel Burwen after cold outreach via LI Sales Nav. Three-founder team, only one full-time. Company spun out of a consulting studio in January 2026 around a privacy-first AI platform; six early design partners, two trending toward signed contracts.

Source: Meeting Notes recAsiCHeVQpLL2uF

Deal Timeline