a16z Leads Series A in Private Networking Platform doxxnet

a16z Leads Series A in Private Networking Platform doxxnet Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced it is leading the Series A investment round for doxxnet, a company creating a parallel, private global network designed for users and their AI agents. AI has escalated privacy and security concerns by making large-scale data analysis and agent-level surveillance easier and cheaper. doxxnet operates a software-defined global network featuring non-Internet domains, peer-to-peer communications, and its own certificate authority and IP space. The platform introduces 'Agentic Defined Networking,' enabling AI agents to configure network firewalls and private connections under user policies without requiring email or phone registration. doxxnet was founded by Barrett Lyon, a networking veteran who previously founded Prolexic, BitGravity, and Defense.net. AI's Impact on Privacy and Network Attack Surfaces While security through obscurity once sufficed due to technical limitations in processing mass surveillance, advancements in AI now allow data to be connected and analyzed at scale cheaply and quickly. As autonomous AI agents read documents, move files, invoke APIs, and browse the internet, the observable surface area requiring network-level protection has expanded significantly. doxxnet's Parallel Network Architecture doxxnet provides a parallel software-defined global network where users and agents communicate peer-to-peer without central communications servers. The infrastructure includes its own global backbone, dedicated hardware, independent IP space, private naming system, certificate authority, and DNS threat protection. Under its 'Agentic Defined Networking' model, agents configure network rules and connections directly, while user onboarding requires no email addresses or phone numbers. Leadership and Series A Investment The company was founded by Barrett Lyon, who previously pioneered DDoS defense with Prolexic (acquired by Akamai) and founded BitGravity and Defense.net (acquired by Tata Communications and F5, respectively). a16z is backing doxxnet's approach to human and agent privacy by leading its Series A funding round.

a16z 领投私有网络基础设施 doxxnet A 轮融资 a16z 宣布领投隐私网络平台 doxxnet 的 A 轮融资。针对 AI 与智能体技术带来的数据暴露与分析威胁，doxxnet 构建了一套平行的私有全球网络基础设施，旨在为个人和 AI 智能体提供端到端加密与可控的网络环境。 AI 技术使大规模数据处理和分析门槛大幅降低，代表用户操作的智能体进一步扩大了隐私防护面。 doxxnet 构建了包含独立硬件骨干网、IP 空间、私有域名解析及自有证书颁发机构的平行网络，无需邮箱或电话即可使用。 平台支持智能体定义网络（Agentic Defined Networking），实现端到端直接通信并具备 DNS 级威胁拦截。 doxxnet 由资深网络安全连续创业者 Barrett Lyon 创立。 AI 时代带来的网络隐私挑战 过去由于技术限制，全面监控与处理海量数据极为困难，但 AI 突破打破了这种“靠隐蔽获得安全”的常态，使大规模关联分析变得低成本且迅速。同时，能读取文档、调用 API、浏览网页的自主智能体普及，显著扩大了用户的暴露面与潜在安全风险。 doxxnet 的平行私有网络架构与功能 doxxnet 建立了一个软件定义的平行私有网络，用户和智能体可在此进行私密浏览、直连传输及组建加密网状网络。系统拥有独立硬件骨干网、专属 IP 空间与私有证书颁发机构，并在 DNS 层面拦截网络钓鱼与恶意软件。通过智能体定义网络，智能体可在既定策略下自动配置网络连接和防火墙规则，且注册无需电话或邮箱。 创始人背景与 A 轮融资 doxxnet 由拥有二十多年网络防御经验的 Barrett Lyon 创立，他此前曾创办 Prolexic、BitGravity 及 Defense.net，并分别被 Akamai、Tata Communications 与 F5 收购。a16z 宣布正式领投 doxxnet 的 A 轮融资，支持其团队推进面向人类与智能体的新一代私有网络建设。

For the longest time, privacy felt like a concern of the few. Either you were a security and privacy nut (me) or you had bigger more immediate things to worry about. A big part of the reason for a lack of general concern was the real technical limitations to how far surveillance could go. Sure, you could record everything and maybe one day unencrypt it, but you could surely never process it all to produce a full useful picture of someone’s life. Security through obscurity was always good enough. AI blows that up and changes the equation because it makes analyzing and connecting large amounts of information easier, cheaper and faster. Take those rapid changes to collecting data and understanding it, and add to that a world where agents act on your behalf and you have expanded the surface area you need to protect. Your agent can read documents, call APIs, move files and browse the internet with access to your data and accounts. Where the agent connects and who can observe those connections is now becoming your concern. It turns out all you need is attention, and with that everything can be understood at scale. The breakthroughs in AI have made privacy and security concerns front and center for everyone, even if they don’t realize it yet. Enter [doxxnet](https://www.doxx.net/). doxxnet gives people and their agents a parallel, private network they can build on: browse privately, transfer files directly, connect devices and agents into encrypted meshes, and communicate peer to peer. It runs on a true software-defined global network, where users can create non-Internet domains that resolve inside the parallel internet, secured by doxxnet’s own certificate authority instead of the public Internet’s. Calls, messages, and file transfers travel directly between peers without a central communications server in the middle. DNS-level threat protection helps block connections to phishing and malware destinations before a person or agent reaches them. Agents can also help configure the network itself: connect devices, set firewall rules, and establish private connections under the user’s policies. doxxnet calls this Agentic Defined Networking. The idea is that people and their agents should have control over the networks they use and the boundaries around their activity. doxxnet gives users control starting with the infrastructure. It has built its own global backbone with dedicated hardware, its own IP space, private naming system, and certificate authority. Users can get started without providing an email address or phone number. These are architectural choices that reduce the personal information the service needs to collect in the first place. Gone are the days where you had to rely on a sketchy VPN provider in an unknown country of origin doing god knows what with your data. doxxnet is built by Barrett Lyon, who helped pioneer the modern DDoS defense industry with Prolexic, later acquired by Akamai. He went on to found companies including BitGravity and Defense.net, acquired by Tata Communications and F5, respectively. Barrett has spent more than two decades building networks and defending them against attackers. He has a rare combination of experience that matters when the ambition is to rethink how private networking works from the ground up. Today we’re proud to announce our support for doxxnet as we lead their Series A, and as they pioneer the start of a real privacy choice for us all. We’re excited to partner with Barrett and the team as they build private networking for people and the agents acting on their behalf. *This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not investment advice, nor is it intended for use by any investors or prospective investors in any a16z funds. This newsletter may link to other websites or contain other information obtained from third-party sources - a16z has not independently verified nor makes any representations about the current or enduring accuracy of such information. If this content includes third-party advertisements, a16z has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content or related companies contained therein. Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z; visit [https://a16z.com/investment-list/](https://a16z.com/investment-list/) for a full list of investments. Other important information can be found at [a16z.com/disclosures](http://a16z.com/disclosures). You’re receiving this newsletter since you opted in earlier; if you would like to opt out of future newsletters you may unsubscribe immediately.*