Animal Capital Closes $33 Million Fund III to Double Down on Early-Stage Strategy

Backed by elite technology founders, institutional operators, and cultural icons, Fund III scales check sizes by 142% to anchor seed-stage investments

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Animal Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm, today announced the successful closing of Animal Capital Fund III (“Fund III”) with $33 million in total commitments, reflecting strong support from both new and existing investors. The closing represents a significant scale-up from the firm's $13 million Fund I and $16 million Fund II, enabling Animal Capital to expand its core strategy of driving early-stage growth through institutional rigor and unparalleled cultural influence.

Alongside the vehicle’s capital growth, Fund III increases the firm's target check size up roughly 150% from its inaugural fund. The fund will continue to target early-stage, primarily U.S.-based investments that leverage technology to make consumers' lives better, more efficient, or more entertaining.

Founded in 2020 by Marshall Sandman following his tenure leading venture capital for WarnerMedia, Animal Capital has established a performance record marked by an industry-leading IRR, placing it in the top 1% of returns for both its Fund I and Fund II vintages. The leadership team expanded in 2022 with the addition of Managing Partner Dylann Sands. Sandman and Sands, who first met at Cornell University, both bring complementary institutional expertise to the firm, having previously worked together in Goldman Sachs' investment banking division.

The firm's hands-on deployment model has achieved a 60% to 70% graduation rate for portfolio companies moving from Seed to Series A and B. Over the past five years, this strategy has successfully scaled an outsized portfolio featuring three decacorns and four unicorns, including Whatnot (valued at $11.5B), Colossal Biosciences (valued at $10.3B), Whop (valued at $1.6B), and Underdog Sports (valued at $1.3B). The Animal team invested in each of these businesses in either their Seed or Series A rounds.

"We want to be MVP’s in our category. We delivered significant value to our investors in a market cycle where creator funds have died out,” said Marshall Sandman, General Partner of Animal Capital. “We deliver the most value from pre-seed to Series A, and we’ll keep doing that just the way we always have.”

Animal Capital is anchored by an expansive LP base composed of elite tech founders, blue-chip institutional operators, and prominent cultural figures. The fund's strategic advisors and partners include the former President of Goldman Sachs, the former CEO of TikTok, the former President of Disney, and the founders of Twitch, Netflix, Tinder, and Android, as well as General Partners from leading venture firms including Craft Ventures, a16z, and Pear VC.

Fund III continues to receive robust support from returning high-profile LPs who are doubling down on the firm's model, including Paris Hilton, Kevin Mayer, Justin Kan, Gary Cohn, Rich Miner, and Jason Karp. The vehicle also welcomed exciting new strategic partners to the roster, including Pete Davidson, joining existing high-profile investors such as Mark Wahlberg, Christina Aguilera, James Corden, Taylor Fritz and Mr. Beast.

Animal Capital operates at the intersection of strategic capital and cultural access, offering portfolio companies immediate reach into a massive collective digital audience of its LPs. This unique distribution network circumventing traditional marketing friction has emerged as a successful blueprint, evidenced by the proven track record of strategic exits. Notable strategic exits from Funds I and II include:

• Saturn (acquired by Snapchat)
• Deliverr (acquired by Shopify)
• Inkbox (acquired by BIC)
• Stage10 (acquired by eBay)

Additional high-growth companies anchoring the firm's ongoing portfolio include Unrivaled, Somos, Sundays For Dogs, Breakaway, Array Labs, and BuyWander.

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP represented Animal Capital in connection with the closing of Fund III.

About Animal Capital
Animal Capital is a next-generation tech and software-focused venture capital firm built to redefine early-stage investing. Founded in 2020 by Marshall Sandman, the firm combines investment banking discipline with hands-on operational expertise, targeting investments where it believes strategic operational guidance and modern digital distribution from its influential LPs can unlock significant value necessary to scale from inception to Series A and beyond. For more information, visit animalcapital.com.