Banana Capital
Venture capitalActively deployingSeattle · Pre-Seed–Seed · 2 people tracked
Also known as BANANA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
Investment thesis
Banana Capital invests up to $250k in pre-seed and seed rounds, often as a first or largest investor. It backs resilient, obsessed founders building category-defining products with defensible distribution, clear revenue prospects, and signs of large markets. Historical and future interest areas include consumer software, health, fintech, gaming, media, housing, dev tools, B2B software, and deeper tech, with particular themes around improving food, affordable housing, more efficient government, and how AI reshapes how businesses are built and operated. Investment is primarily in the US, with occasional deals in Europe and parts of Asia.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 2 people
from the firm's website & public directoriesWhat they invest in
from 16 of 23 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×7SaaS ×6Developer Tools ×4Enterprise Software ×4Cloud Computing ×2Consumer ×2Cybersecurity ×2GovTech ×2
HQs:United States×8Australia×1
Investments · 23 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathHealthtechYardlsley, US
Benedicte LeMarie(Director)Kethleen Widmer(Executive Officer, Director)Barry Bruno(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardWalid Abboud(Director)Ludmilla Le Marie(Director)
Board seatTurner Novak· per SEC Form D · $6M raise · filed Feb 2025
BeReal is a social media platform where users share unfiltered photos using a front-and-back camera format during daily two-minute windows.
Social
Bun is an all-in-one JavaScript, TypeScript, and JSX toolkit that includes a runtime, bundler, test runner, and package manager, aiming for full Node.js compatibility.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper Tools
Candor provides a data loss prevention (DLP) platform that uses AI to detect insider risks by analyzing user behavior and data movement patterns, surfacing only genuine security threats to organizations.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Adarsh Ambati(CEO/Co-Founder)inAnsh Gupta(Co-Founder)inAditya Iyengar(Founder)in
Inngest is an execution layer for agents and workflows that helps engineers build and optimize event-driven workflows without manual retry logic or queue management.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsRoyal Oak, US
Tony Holdstock-Brown(CEO & Founder)Dan Farrelly(CTO & Founder)Jamin Ball(Director)Daniel Farrelly(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardDan Cahana(Director)
Liveblocks provides APIs and infrastructure for building real-time collaborative tools, enabling multiplayer functionality for creative and productivity applications.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsSaaS
Guillaume Salles(Co-founder & Engineer)Steven Fabre(Co-founder & Product Designer)
Mindset Health develops digital health programs using hypnotherapy and mind-body medicine to help patients manage gastrointestinal disorders and improve health outcomes.
Digital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesMental HealthWellness & FitnessMelbourne, AU
Alex Naoumidis(Co-founder & Co-CEO)inChris Naoumidis(Founder)in
Secureframe provides a compliance automation platform that helps enterprises maintain security and compliance posture with common controls mapping across multiple frameworks.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Shrav Mehta(Cofounder)
Upwards operates a technology-driven marketplace that connects families with childcare providers and partners with government entities to offer subsidized care.
B2B MarketplacesConsumerFuture of WorkHR TechSaaS
Jessica Chang(Co-founder)Jesse(Co-founder)Matt(Co-founder)
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Banana Capital invest at?
- Banana Capital invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is Banana Capital's typical check size?
- Banana Capital typically writes checks of $1 – $250K.
- What sectors does Banana Capital focus on?
- Banana Capital focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Consumer, Deep Tech, Developer Tools, Enterprise Software, Fintech, FoodTech, Gaming, GovTech, Healthtech, Media & Entertainment, PropTech, SaaS.
- Where is Banana Capital located?
- Banana Capital is headquartered in Seattle, US.
- Does Banana Capital lead rounds?
- Yes, Banana Capital leads investment rounds.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamturner novak / banana capital
Slice Podcast · Turner Novak
Turner Novak, Founder & Solo GP, Banana Capital "Early stage venture capital firm"
Fondo · Turner Novak
Turner Novak: Building Banana Capital and a Following That Compounds
The Rise w/ Alex Klein · Turner Novak
Going Bananas with Turner Novak, Founder of Banana Capital
INDIE · Turner Novak
Turner Novak, founder of Banana Capital, talks VC investing and the power of meme accounts
ADSN · Turner Novak
Turner Novak: Founder of Banana Capital
Relentless · Turner Novak
Co-investors · 105
Andreessen Horowitz's Strategic Partnerships page describes collaborations that connect its portfolio companies with established institutions to help scale and deploy their technology.
Kleiner Perkins is a venture capital firm that backs founders across technology and life sciences, with a portfolio of companies from early stage through growth.
Spark Capital is a venture capital firm that backs founders across technology and consumer companies; it notably led Twitter's Series B in 2008.
Earl Grey Capital is an early-stage venture fund founded by operators who previously built Clearbit, an API-first data company acquired by HubSpot in 2023.
Shrug Capital started as a viral joke tweet that became a $3M venture fund, blending elite Silicon Valley investors with celebrities like Tony Hawk and The Chainsmokers to create an unusually strong bridge between tech and entertainment culture. The fund backs companies with "effortless sharing" potential that are culturally resonant enough to explain enthusiastically to non-tech friends, while the partners act as obsessive fans who tattoo portfolio logos and turn their personal lives into marketing campaigns for their companies.
Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build technology companies, with a strong current focus on artificial intelligence.
General Catalyst is a venture capital and investment firm that backs founders across industries, with a strong focus on AI-driven transformation, fintech, healthcare, and other sectors.
Notable Capital is an early-stage venture firm that partners closely with founders, providing hands-on operational support through a platform team of experienced operators across hiring, sales, leadership development, storytelling, and engineering.
Amplify Partners is an early-stage venture firm that has invested in technical founders — engineers, researchers, and scientists — building applications, AI models, developer tools, and infrastructure since 2012.
Vibe Capital (Vibecap) is a venture firm investing in AI, Web3, and deep tech startups, aiming to back founders building more equitable, transparent, and accessible structures.
Fuel Capital is an early-stage venture firm focused on backing outstanding founding teams across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail.
Standard Capital leads Series A rounds in top post-product-market-fit startups through a fast application and interview process, taking a minimum 10% ownership without board seats and supporting founders via cohort-based group office hours in San Francisco.
▶93 more co-investors
FikaContrary CapitalAlvenMantis CapitalFounders FundLightspeed Venture PartnersCraft VenturesKhosla VenturesGreylock PartnersTechstarsIndex VenturesAlumni VenturesBenchmarkBain Capital VenturesUberEverywhere VenturesDCVC (Data Collective)AtomicoSapphire VenturesStreamlined VenturesOffline VenturesSlow VenturesGreycroftPioneerPrecursor VenturesStellar CapitalAdditionFloodgateMeritech Capital PartnersResolute VenturesTodd and Rahul’s Angel FundQED InvestorsBuckley Ventures Management Company LlcPoint Nine CapitalNot Boring CapitalGoodwater Capital2048 Ventures75 & SunnyEQT VenturesCostanoa VenturesCoinbase VenturesCausalWorklife Venturesboldstart venturesKearny JacksonPelion Venture PartnersLOI VentureFreigeist CapitalWork-BenchLobby CapitalClimate CapitalEXPONENT FOUNDERS CAPITALMischief305 VenturesMakers FundRally Ventures Management, LlcPlaidS32Adjacent Ventures LlcTrust FundBBG VenturesColor CapitalTMV LogisticsWndrCoStripePIPELINE CAPITAL PARTNERSMoving CapitalFemale FoundersArriveAlpine VenturesDVCAllen Institute for Artificial Intelligence Incubator (AI2)Cambrian VenturesANIMO VenturesMarket One CapitalBoltPositive Sum CapitalHorizonCoughdrop CapitalNorthside VenturesSeven Seven SixJungle VenturesMPG FundInformation Venture PartnersDouble DownPanache VenturesHonest GameKeymakerOptimist VenturesTitletownTechSocially FinancedCoVentureIndus Valley Capital
Firms observed investing alongside Banana Capital, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Banana Capital's recorded portfolio.
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