Backwards Capital
Venture capitalActively deployingNew York · Pre-Seed–Seed
Investment thesis
Backwards Capital centers on Chris, an active early-stage investor who writes first checks and works closely with founders as a hands-on value-add partner. He is known for spotting talent early across domains ranging from technology to music and consumer brands, and for leveraging a distinctive network to make strategic introductions. The firm emphasizes deep founder support—acting as a thought partner, helping with growth, personnel, and hardest problems—positioning itself less as a passive investor and more as an entrepreneurial partner backing companies over the long term.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
What they invest in
from 43 of 54 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×19Consumer ×9SaaS ×9Enterprise Software ×6Fintech ×6Marketplaces ×5Media & Entertainment ×5Creator Economy ×4
HQs:United States×19Canada×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 15 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×92 founders×6
Where their founders worked beforefrom 12 founders with career history
Apple ×2RBC Capital Markets ×2Susquehanna International Group ×2
Investments · 54 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 32025 · 12024 · 12021 · 16 dated
Adapt is an AI coworker that integrates with tools like Slack, GitHub, and Linear to answer questions, run analyses, automate workflows, and build internal apps and dashboards across a company's connected systems.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Co-investorsActivant CapitalAUTHENTIC VENTURESNexus BayPredictive VCHeadlineSusa Ventures
Agentio is an AI infrastructure platform that enables brands to buy creator media at scale.
AdTechAI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMarketing TechNew York, US
Arthur Leopold(Co-Founder and CEO)inJonathan Meyers(Co-Founder and CTO)in
BoardSarah Tavel(Benchmark director)inEurie Kim(Forerunner managing partner / Series B investor)
Co-investorsAlleyCorpAntlerAntler AustraliaCraft VenturesForerunner VenturesProtagonist+2 more
Alt operates an online marketplace and exchange for trading collectible cards, including sports cards and Pokémon cards, through auctions and fixed-price sales.
ConsumerFintechMarketplacesSan Francisco, US
Leore Avidar(Founder)
Co-investorsBoxGroupBreyer CapitalChapter OneHyperguapGTMfund
Babylon is a digital health company that develops prescription medications and treatments for specific health conditions.
Digital HealthHealthtechMedical Devices
BoardMichelle Arkin(PhD)
Co-investorsK5 GlobalLaunch HouseLong Journey VenturesMetaplaneta16z cryptoParadigm
Bachan's makes Japanese barbecue and dipping sauces based on a family recipe, using simple non-GMO ingredients.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerFoodTechSebastopol, US
Justin Gill(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsSonoma Brands Capital
Aviato provides a database of people and company intelligence data, including employee details, compensation information, vesting schedules, and company metrics.
Data & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSales Tech
Eric Zhu(Founder)inKonrad Kucharski(Founder)in
Co-investorsD1 VenturesDorm RoomGround Game VenturesSnow Leopard Technology Ventures8VCCerraCap+1 more
A platform enabling renters to become homeowners and property owners to generate passive income through residential real estate.
AI & Machine LearningPropTech
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzBattery VenturesFifth WallNotable CapitalElevation CapitalJ17 Capital+3 more
Co-investorsModerne Ventures75 & Sunny
Cloverly provides Catalyst, a commercial operating system for carbon credit project developers to manage inventory, pricing, sales, and delivery and to reach sales channels and buyers from one system.
CleantechClimate TechSaaSAtlanta, US
Jason Rubottom(Executive Officer, Director)James Heath(Director)
BoardAnthony Oni(Director)Vasant Kamath(Director)inMike Dowdle(Director)in
Co-investorsCircadian VenturesCreativeCoKnoll VenturesMission One CapitalNew Climate VenturesOpen Opportunity Fund+1 more
Conduit builds an AI platform ("CoPilot") for B2B wholesale distributors and suppliers that integrates ERP, WMS, OMS, CRM, and pricing systems into a unified data layer.
AI & Machine LearningB2B MarketplacesSales Tech
Rohan Shah(Cofounder)
Co-investorsGood Friends
dub is a copy-trading platform that allows retail investors to automatically follow the trades of selected investor creators.
FintechSaaS
Steven Wang(Chief Executive Officer, Founder)inBrett Chereskin(Chief Operating Officer)Justin Reich(Chief Technology Officer)
Co-investorsCorrelation VenturesDorm RoomGraph VenturesNotable CapitalScribble VenturesSlow Ventures+2 more
Editframe is a developer platform that lets AI agents create videos by writing declarative compositions in HTML and CSS, rendering them in the browser, CLI, or cloud.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsMedia & EntertainmentNew York, US
Jeremy Yudkin(Executive Officer, Director)James Bryce Jackson(Executive Officer, Director)
Cofounder is an AI-powered platform that provides agentic departments for early-stage founders, automating engineering, sales, marketing, design, finance, and operations tasks.
AI & Machine LearningFuture of WorkSaaS
Co-investorsUnion Square Ventures (USV)A16Z SpeedrunAcrew CapitalAntigravity CapitalCompoundPrecursor Ventures+1 more
Ghost builds dedicated consumer hardware and software for running personal AI agents on infrastructure the user owns, rather than on cloud providers.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerHardware
Co-investorsAudaciousEqual VenturesCathay InnovationL CattertonUnion Square Ventures (USV)
Hanover Park is an AI-native fund administrator that combines automated services with software for investment firms, handling tasks such as bill processing, evidence collection, investment updates, LP responses, and KPI reconciliation.
AI & Machine LearningFintechSaaSNew York City, US
Chris Hladczuk(Founder)
Co-investorsHarpoon VenturesSteel AtlasBanana CapitalSusa Ventures
Hyper builds AI agents for corporate finance teams, including a travel-and-expense agent that files and adjudicates expenses, an FP&A agent that forecasts and runs scenario analyses, and a travel agent that books and validates corporate trips.
AI & Machine LearningFintechSaaS
Co-investorsGood Friends
Indify is a platform that connects emerging music artists with industry partners for record deals and collaborations, offering matchmaking, warm introductions, and a research and analytics platform.
Data & InfrastructureMarketplacesMedia & EntertainmentScarsdale, US
Keshav Garg(CEO)
Co-investorsNotation CapitalRSE VenturesTIA Ventures
Intelas offers an AI and machine learning platform that collects, standardizes, and analyzes real estate property data from portfolio managers, consolidating it into a single system with document parsing, variance analysis, and reporting dashboards.
AI & Machine LearningPropTechSaaS
Co-investorsInnovating Capital
Co-investorsCollab+CurrencyParaFi Capital
KikiTora is a markerless motion capture technology that extracts high-fidelity 3D performance data from any RGB or grayscale video, capturing full-body movement, facial expressions, hand gestures, camera data, and props without specialized equipment.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechMedia & EntertainmentSan Francisco, US
Astrid Wilde(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsHeartfelt Capital
Co-investorsFour Acres CapitalMozilla VenturesTq Ventures Llc
Wander operates a network of vacation rental homes that come with amenities such as fast WiFi, gyms, and pools, along with cleaning teams and on-call support.
MarketplacesPropTechTravel & Hospitality
Co-investorsActivant CapitalAdapt VenturesAdvection Growth CapitalAntiAUTHENTIC VENTURESCapital Factory+7 more
Melius is an AI creative platform where users brief an agent called Mel and steer multimodal image and video models on a single canvas to produce creative outputs such as concept boards, storyboards, ad variants, product shots, and marketing graphics.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMarketing Tech
Montra is an AI platform that generates video and static ads from a brand's existing store assets, pulling products, images, and branding from connected Shopify or WooCommerce stores.
AdTechAI & Machine LearningMarketing Tech
Co-investorsArdent Venture
Nema Systems builds an AI agent for safety and compliance engineering that analyzes hazards, requirements, and defects across tools like Jira and Jama.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise Software
Nucleus provides genetic testing and analysis for couples planning pregnancy, screening for over 200 hereditary diseases, traits, and health conditions.
Digital HealthLongevityMedical Devices
Dr. Nathan Treff
Co-investorsKube VCSamsung NextSnatched VenturesBalaji Srinivasan
NxLite develops sustainable coatings and glazing solutions for building windows and glass to improve energy efficiency and reduce heating/cooling energy loss.
CleantechConstruction TechNew MaterialsToronto, CA
David Matherin
Co-investorsACT Venture PartnersCreative VenturesEarth FoundryEnergy FoundryNew Climate VenturesTop Corner Capital+1 more
Omen provides continuous fluid analysis sensors that monitor the health of critical hardware in real time, detecting equipment failures before they occur across data centers and industrial machinery.
Deep TechEnterprise SoftwareIoT
Daniel Jeong(Founder)in
Co-investors640 OxfordCRV (Charles River Ventures)LMNT VenturesNava Ventures
Order.co is an AI-powered platform that automates procurement, accounts payable, and spend management for businesses.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSNew York City, US
Zachary Garippa(Founder)inMatt Garippa(Founder)in
Co-investorsAnkona CapitalClocktower VenturesCloquet Capital Partners, LLCEntrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA)Evolution VC PartnersGMO VenturePartners+3 more
Pinto Robotics makes PODS, a countertop robot that automatically fills and seals sauce cups for quick-service restaurants.
FoodTechHardwareRoboticsLos Angeles, US
Pointless offers an AI front end for the prediction economy, using models that simulate future events and probabilities to identify edge before markets react.
AI & Machine LearningFintech
Daniel Fruhman(Founder)inJosh Fruhman(Founder)in
Co-investorsAbstract VenturesStarting LineRed Sea Ventures
Rheom Materials develops biobased materials using biopolymers derived from plant-based matter, applying melt extrusion techniques to create sustainable alternatives to plastics.
Circular EconomyCleantechNew Materials
Co-investorsAlwyn CapitalBeni Venture CapitalNew Climate Ventures
Royal is building products at the intersection of music and cryptocurrency to create economic opportunities for both musicians and listeners.
Crypto & Web3Media & Entertainment
Co-investorsa16z cryptoAndreessen HorowitzCoinbase VenturesParadigmVibe CapitalEarl Grey Capital
Sentra is a tool that captures and reconstructs the context behind engineering decisions, linking discussions, tickets, and pull requests to explain why choices were made.
Developer ToolsFuture of WorkSaaSSan Francisco, US
Andrey Starenky(Founder)inAl Rey(Founder)in
Co-investorsA16Z SpeedrunAntigravity CapitalBessemer Venture PartnersKey1 CapitalPrecursor VenturesStandard Investments+3 more
Siegelman Stable is an apparel and accessories brand selling graphic tees, hoodies, knitwear, hats, and other clothing, including licensed collaborations with sports teams and organizations such as the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and US Soccer.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerce
Solace provides patient advocacy services that help individuals navigate healthcare systems and secure treatments and approvals.
Digital HealthHealthtech
Jeremy Gurewitz(Founder & CEO)inSara Sargent(Founder)in
Co-investorsBlack Jays VenturesCoalition OperatorsInspired CapitalIVP (Institutional Venture Partners)Launch HouseMenlo Ventures+4 more
Sparx provides an integrated actuarial, insurance, and data platform that automates manual processes for healthcare organizations participating in value-based care arrangements.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareHealthtech
Ricky Pati(Founder)in
Co-investorsDrive CapitalHuman CapitalThrive Capital
Strike is a Bitcoin financial platform where users can buy, sell, spend, save, and borrow against bitcoin, with features including zero-fee recurring buys, Lightning Network payments, and free on-chain withdrawals.
Crypto & Web3Fintech
Co-investorsHivemind Ventures, LlcKube VCSpace Whale CapitalStreamlined VenturesValor Capital GroupMorgan Creek Capital
Superpower offers personalized health testing and monitoring for consumers, analyzing 100+ biomarkers across multiple body systems.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthWellness & Fitness
Dr Anant Vinjamoori
Co-investorsBlack FlagForerunner VenturesLaunch HouseLong Journey VenturesNext Legacy PartnersStarting Line+5 more
Adam Weinstein(Founder)in
Co-investorsalphabet angelsAlpine MeridianBullpen CapitalNew York Venture PartnersStage 1 Ventures
TrueShort produces original movies and series designed for viewing on mobile phones, offered exclusively through its own platform.
ConsumerMedia & Entertainment
Co-investorsAUTHENTIC VENTURESKhosla Ventures
Type Five combines modular design with construction methods to build customizable accessory dwelling units and living spaces, offering up-front pricing and faster move-in times.
Construction TechPropTechBerkeley, US
BoardAleksis Bertoni(Director)Tim Thimmaiah(Executive Officer, Director)in
Co-investorsBlack Jays VenturesCarbide VenturesHawk Hill VenturesNight CapitalZelda Ventures
Underdog Fantasy offers a sports predictions and betting product where users make picks on team outcomes, spreads, totals, moneylines, and parlays for entry amounts from $1 to $2,000.
ConsumerGamingSports Tech
Co-investors305 VenturesAcies InvestmentsDarco CapitalMantis CapitalNight CapitalPROOF+4 more
vidIQ offers AI-powered tools for YouTube creators, providing content ideas, video optimization (titles, tags, thumbnails), and creator coaching to help grow views and subscribers.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMarketing Tech
Rob Sandie(Founder)inJames Cross(Founder)in
Co-investorsEscalate Capital PartnersSocial StartsUpfront VenturesLowercase Capital
Whatnot is a live commerce marketplace that enables creators and entrepreneurs to build businesses by connecting with audiences through real-time streaming and shopping.
ConsumerCreator EconomyE-commerceMarketplacesSocialLos Angeles, US
Grant LaFontaine(Founder/CEO)inLogan Head(Founder)in
BoardDalton Caldwell(Director)inConnie Chan(Director)inLaela Sturdy(Director)inAnu Hariharan(Director)
Co-investorsAlkeon InnovationAndreessen HorowitzCapitalGFirebolt Ventures Management Company, LlcGreycroftICONIQ+11 more
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesStrike · vineyardgazette.com · Aug 4, 2026
Underdog · awfulannouncing.com · Jul 31, 2026
Montra · evreporter.com · Jul 28, 2026
NxLite · axios.com · Jul 18, 2026
Whatnot · dot.la · Jul 17, 2026
Solace Health · kavout.com · Jul 16, 2026
Agentio · prnewswire.com · Jul 13, 2026
Royal · tipranks.com · Jul 10, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Backwards Capital made?
- Backwards Capital has 52 tracked investments, including 3 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Backwards Capital invest at?
- Backwards Capital invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What sectors does Backwards Capital focus on?
- Backwards Capital focuses on Consumer, Marketing Tech.
- Where is Backwards Capital located?
- Backwards Capital is headquartered in New York, US.
- Who does Backwards Capital co-invest with?
- Backwards Capital most often shares deals with AUTHENTIC VENTURES, Kube VC, Launch House, among 135 tracked co-investors.
Images
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