(INVESTING)
Mana Road Capital
An early-stage investment firm in Menlo Park, founded by Daniel Farrell. We invest at pre-seed and seed in companies with a product that is hard to copy and a reason the world will hear about it.
THE THESIS
AI makes building abundant. Abundance creates competition. Competition makes attention scarce. Scarcity creates value. Mana Road Capital backs founders who treat distribution as a first-class product problem, and asks one question of every company: what can this company distribute that nobody else can?
FOCUS
Pre-seed and seed. AI companies with a hard-to-copy moat: robotics and physical AI, hard tech, infrastructure and energy, and AI-native software with a real distribution edge. US-based, mostly San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.
HOW WE INVEST
We invest deal by deal at pre-seed and seed, where a small team can have the most direct impact. We show up before the launch, not after the wire: the story, the launch film and the plan for launch day.
THE NAME
Named for Mana Road in Waimea, Hawaii. Long horizons, and a belief that trust is the scarcest asset in early-stage investing.
COMMON QUESTIONS
What is Mana Road Capital?
Mana Road Capital is an early-stage investment firm headquartered in Menlo Park, founded by Daniel Farrell. It invests deal by deal at pre-seed and seed.
Who runs Mana Road Capital?
Daniel Farrell, who started out producing media for Tim Draper and later founded Te Dua, the launch film studio for YC and a16z speedrun startups.
How is Mana Road Capital related to Te Dua?
Te Dua is a separate company, also founded by Daniel Farrell, that makes launch films for startups and films for the funds that back them. The two share a founder and a belief that the best company doesn't always win, but the best-understood one often does.
How do founders reach Mana Road Capital?
Email Daniel at daniel@manaroadcapital.com with a short note on what you are building and when you plan to raise.
Nothing on this page is an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security or interest in any fund.