Toni Schneider
InvestorFounderInvestment Team at True Ventures · Board director at Nixtla · Board director at Tend AI · Board director at Stryder
San Francisco
Writes $1M – $50M checks · typically $20M
About
Toni Schneider began his career writing software, including NASA-commissioned 3D audio technology, before moving into building and leading companies as a CEO and co-founder. He was the founding CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce, which he led from 2006 to 2014 as it grew to power a large share of the web. For the past decade he has been a partner at True Ventures, investing in seed-stage startups, and in 2025 he became CEO of Bluesky, the company behind the AT Protocol and the decentralized Atmosphere ecosystem. Earlier roles included VP of the Yahoo! Developer Network and CEO of Oddpost, a webmail startup acquired by Yahoo!.
Likely emails· guessed from name + firm domain, not firm-published
- t•••@trueventures.comreveal100% confident
- t•••@trueventures.comreveal80% confident
Invests in
Climate TechCloud ComputingHardwareSaaS
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Co-founded and was the founding CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce. Co-founded and was CEO of Uplister, a music discovery platform. Toni Schneider co-founded Uplister, a venture-backed music recommendation startup, in 2000. Toni Schneider co-founded the blog search engine Sphere with Tony Conrad in 2005.
- Education
- Holds a BS in Computer Science from Stanford University, having transferred from Santa Barbara City College.
- Boards
- Serves as a board member and special advisor to Automattic.
- Communities
- Served in the Swiss military before moving to California.
- Awards
- Voted Silicon Valley's best startup CEO at the 2008 Crunchies. Toni Schneider won Best Startup CEO at the Crunchies in 2008.
- Hobbies
- Grew up in Switzerland by Lake Zurich and DJed at Radio Zuerisee. Toni Schneider enjoys exploring the US in his biodiesel Land Cruiser, rooting for the San Francisco Giants, and tinkering with old cars.
- Family
- Is a father of three grown kids and partner to Kim D'Arcy.
- More
- Developed 3D audio software for NASA early in his career.
Mentioned above: the Stanford University mafia →
From Toni's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Board director at Nixtla
Intro paths
In turn, Toni can intro founders to Nixtla's investors below.
Nixtla's investors · 6
Co-founders at Nixtla
Board director at Tend AI
Intro paths
In turn, Toni can intro founders to Tend AI's investors below.
Tend AI's investors · 1
Co-founders at Tend AI
Board director at Stryder
Intro paths
In turn, Toni can intro founders to Stryder's investors below.
Stryder's investors · 2
Co-founders at Stryder
Experience
- Bluesky SocialCEOcurrent2026 — present
- True VenturesPartnercurrent2005 — present
- AutomatticCEO2006 — 2014
- Yahoo!VP2004 — 2005
- OddpostCEO2002 — 2004
- UplisterCEO2000 — 2002
- Aureal SemiconductorVP Technology1996 — 1999
- Crystal River EngineeringSoftware Engineer1993 — 1996
Education
- Stanford UniversityBS, CS1991 — 1993
- Santa Barbara City CollegeComputer Science1989 — 1991
Skills & more
+9 more
BloggingE-commerceMobile DevicesStrategic PartnershipsLeadershipSaaSFresh IdeasInnovationEnterprise SoftwareLanguages English · French · German · Swiss German
From Toni's professional profile.
Deals · 4
NixtlaBoard seat
via True Ventures · filed Dec 2025 · $21.9M raise
StryderBoard seat
via True Ventures · filed Jun 2021 · $80M raise
AutomatticBoard seat
via True Ventures · filed Sep 2019 · $300M raise
Tend AIBoard seat
via True Ventures · filed Nov 2016 · $2M raise
Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.
Other disclosed investments
Sources: the firm's website · SEC Form D filings · the investor's own website.
Writing
All posts ↗Recently the author wrote about becoming Bluesky's permanent CEO and the growth of the AT Protocol Atmosphere ecosystem, including the new Attie AI product and takeaways from ATmosphereConf. He also published a tribute to his late friend Om Malik.
The author announces he has become Bluesky's official CEO after an interim period, describing new features, user growth, and the expanding Atmosphere ecosystem while remaining a True Ventures Venture Partner.'
The author writes a tribute to his late friend Om Malik, recalling how they met in 2004 and how Om introduced him to WordPress and open source.
The author shares takeaways from ATmosphereConf in Vancouver, describing atproto projects beyond social media, community-built apps, and Bluesky's new agentic social product Attie for AI-assisted feed building.
Colleagues at True Ventures
Network1
Investors connected to Toni in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Toni Schneider?
- Toni Schneider began his career writing software, including NASA-commissioned 3D audio technology, before moving into building and leading companies as a CEO and co-founder. He was the founding CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce, which he led from 2006 to 2014 as it grew to power a large share of the web. For the past decade he has been a partner at True Ventures, investing in seed-stage startups, and in 2025 he became CEO of Bluesky, the company behind the AT Protocol and the decentralized Atmosphere ecosystem. Earlier roles included VP of the Yahoo! Developer Network and CEO of Oddpost, a webmail startup acquired by Yahoo!.
- Where does Toni Schneider work?
- Toni Schneider is Investment Team at True Ventures and Board director at Nixtla and Board director at Tend AI and Board director at Stryder.
- What does Toni Schneider invest in?
- Toni Schneider invests in Climate Tech, Cloud Computing, Hardware, SaaS.
- What check size does Toni Schneider write?
- Toni Schneider typically writes checks of $1M – $50M.
- What boards does Toni Schneider sit on?
- Toni Schneider holds tracked board seats at Automattic, Automattic, Nixtla, Stryder, Tend AI.
- What companies has Toni Schneider invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Automattic, Sphere, Uplister, AlpineAI, Bigscreen, Carbo Culture, Exnaton, Handshake, Hatch, Intropic, Lemony, Nixtla, and 1 more.
- Where did Toni Schneider go to school?
- Toni Schneider studied at Stanford University (BS, CS); Santa Barbara City College (Computer Science).
- What awards has Toni Schneider received?
- Voted Silicon Valley's best startup CEO at the 2008 Crunchies. Toni Schneider won Best Startup CEO at the Crunchies in 2008.
- Does Toni Schneider lead rounds?
- Yes — Toni Schneider has led 3 tracked investments.
Founder mafias
Stanford University mafia903
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 896 more
True Ventures mafia10
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 3 more
Santa Barbara City College mafia3
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Nixtla mafia2
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Same school
Also attended Stanford University2,000
+ 1,994 more
Also attended Santa Barbara City College9
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+ 3 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Bluesky Social2
Also worked at Automattic12
+ 6 more
Also worked at Yahoo!285
+ 279 more