Animal Capital is a New York-based early-stage venture firm founded in 2020 by Marshall Sandman, with Dylann Sands serving as Managing Partner. The firm positions itself as the first venture firm with access to over 100 million engaged consumers worldwide, combining investment-banking discipline with a network of celebrity and entertainment-industry LPs to source and support consumer-facing technology companies. Fund III closed at $33 million in June 2026.
Animal Capital backs early-stage, primarily US-based companies building technology that makes consumers' lives better, more efficient, or more entertaining.
The portfolio spans live commerce, creator monetization, sports and gaming, consumer health, and biotechnology with consumer-facing applications.
The firm enters primarily at seed and Series A, leveraging its LP network's reach and cultural relevance as a sourcing and distribution advantage in a consumer venture market that generalist firms have largely vacated in favor of AI infrastructure.
Animal Capital Fund III closed at $33 million in June 2026.
LPs include entertainment and sports figures Paris Hilton, MrBeast, Mark Wahlberg, Pete Davidson, Christina Aguilera, James Corden, and Taylor Fritz, alongside finance and technology figures Gary Cohn (former Goldman Sachs President and National Economic Council Director), Justin Kan (Twitch co-founder), Kevin Mayer (former Disney streaming chief and TikTok CEO), Rich Miner (Android co-founder), and Jason Karp.
The fund continues the strategy of Funds I and II, which together backed Whatnot, Colossal Biosciences, Whop, and Underdog Sports, all entered at seed or Series A.
Leadership
Marshall Sandman is Founder, with a background in investment banking. He leads the firm's sourcing strategy and LP relationships.
Dylann Sands is Managing Partner, working alongside Sandman across all three funds and credited with the firm's portfolio construction and ongoing operations.
Investment Strategy
Animal Capital combines investment-banking-style financial discipline with hands-on operational support for early-stage consumer founders.
The firm's celebrity and operator LP base functions as a distribution asset, giving portfolio companies organic reach to hundreds of millions of followers without paid acquisition spend.
The firm enters primarily at seed and Series A and positions itself as a high-leverage syndicate partner alongside a lead investor on larger rounds, rather than leading large Series A rounds independently.
Notable Investments
Notable Exits
animalcapital.com
info@animalcapital.com
Marshall Sandman — Founder
marshall@animalcapital.com
Dylann Sands — Managing Partner
dylann@animalcapital.com
United States
