steve christensen

Stephen is the founder of Anum Ventures, a venture studio for discovery and creation. The word "Anum" is short for Astra Numerans, meaning "Counting the Stars," a name that reflects a sense of gratitude, awe, and wonder. Anum Ventures begins with wonder and asks questions about unsolved problems. We pursue those questions through discovery and experimentation. We then turn our well-tested experiments into original technologies, products, and companies.

Anum Ventures has built two companies, COSIMO and POLYGLYF, and is now developing a third, ASTRAMATA.

COSIMO is a physics engine that helps AI perceive the world. It gives autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots a precise understanding of what their cameras see, so they can act on the physical world with confidence.

POLYGLYF is a new foundation for cybersecurity. It seals every software operation into a permanent record, so a digital asset stays protected even after it has been exposed.

ASTRAMATA is a new quantum computing platform built on the geometry of space. It is Anum Ventures' third company and is currently in development.

Prior to Anum Ventures, Stephen worked for two investment firms, first as a Partner at SGC, a boutique investment firm focused on Insurance Distribution and Payment Services. The firm made over 600 investments and averaged a 50% annual internal rate of return. This is where Stephen learned the business model of investing in and buying residual revenue streams. Stephen then co-founded Abora Capital, where he and his partner consolidated over 15 insurance agencies and books of business into a unified operating model. The platform achieved recurring annual EBITDA of $1.8 million per tranche of $10 million deployed (audited by PwC) and delivered a 51% annual internal rate of return (IRR).

Stephen began his career raising seed capital for Bernard Daines, one of the early pioneers in fiber-optic networking who had sold his previous two companies to Cisco and Alcatel. Raising seed capital for Bernard served as the inspiration for Stephen to launch his own fiber-optic networking company.

He then founded and scaled what would become the fourth largest fiber-to-the-home provider in the United States. In the lab in 2003, Stephen and his team engineered the network that would become the first to combine telephone, television, and internet over a single IP connection, and the first in the world to deliver primary-line residential VoIP. The company distinguished itself through a localized neighborhood operating model that achieved customer satisfaction levels of 88%.

After merging the company with a regional telecom, Stephen began a software consulting firm building software for clients facing difficult technical challenges. During that time, Stephen also launched and learned from a failed social media software startup.

Stephen was honored as an ACG Dealmaker of the Year finalist and named to Utah's 40 Under 40 Entrepreneurs list. A former college football player, he earned Academic All-Conference and Scholar-Athlete distinctions.

Today, he channels his curiosity into physics, his lifelong passion project.