About Hercules Capital
Hercules Capital, established in 2003, is a private debt fund primarily based in Palo Alto, United States. It specializes in financing Venture Debt round of companies based in United States. Its portfolio includes 402 firms, spanning the Enterprise Applications, Life Sciences sectors.
As of Jun 2025, Hercules Capital has 19 unicorns under its belt and has witnessed 245 portfolio exits so far. Its most notable investments include companies like Facebook, Trulia and Ping Identity.
Its latest investment was a €92²Ñ Series F round in Jobandtalent on Apr 10, 2025, which also saw participation from and .
Key Metrics
Founded Year
2003
Location
Palo Alto, United States
Sectors of Investment
Stages of Investment
Venture Debt, Conventional Debt &
Locations of Investment
Hercules Capital's Portfolio
Hercules Capital has a portfolio ofÌý402 companies.Ìý°Õ³ó±ð¾±°ùÌýlatest investmentÌýwas inÌýJobandtalent(Series F Round) on Apr 10, 2025.ÌýThey haveÌý19 unicornsÌýin their portfolio.ÌýUnicorns includeÌýSemperis,ÌýSirion,ÌýElectric Hydrogen.ÌýThey have hadÌý10 portfolio exits.ÌýMost notable exits includeÌýenGene,ÌýSprinklr andÌý908 Devices.Hercules Capital's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Hercules Capital has invested in 404 companies over the last 20 years, with an average of 8 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2024, it made 7 investments, while as of Apr 2025, it has made 1 investment in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Jobandtalent and most recent follow-on round was in Carwow.
Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1stÌýRound | Follow-on | Total | |
2025 (YTD) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2024 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
2023 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
2022 | 9 | 1 | 10 |
2021 | 8 | 1 | 9 |
2020 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
2019 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
2018 | 10 | 2 | 12 |
2017 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
2016 | 15 | 2 | 17 |
Hercules Capital's Investments by Stage
Hercules Capital has made 52 investments in Venture Debt stage with an average round size of $28.4M, 43 investments in Conventional Debt stage with an average round size of $47.9M and 12 investments in Series D stage with an average round size of $61.6M.Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Venture Debt | 52 |
Conventional Debt | 43 |
Series D | 12 |
Series B | 11 |
Series E | 10 |
Others | 30 |
Hercules Capital's Investments by Sector
Hercules Capital has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Life Sciences, Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Enterprise Infrastructure and Consumer. Notably, it has invested in 311 Tech companies, 293 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 111 Software companies and at least 74 companies focusing on Saas.
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Life Sciences | 58 |
Enterprise Applications | 43 |
High Tech | 27 |
Enterprise Infrastructure | 18 |
Consumer | 15 |
Others | 121 |
Hercules Capital's Investments by Geography
Hercules Capital has made most investments in United States (134), followed by United Kingdom where it has made 6 investments.
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 134 |
United Kingdom | 6 |
Canada | 4 |
Australia | 2 |
Germany | 2 |
Others | 10 |
Hercules Capital's recent investments
Here are the most recent investments by Hercules Capital:
Date | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 10, 2025 | Spain | Series F | €92²Ñ | [+5] | |
Dec 19, 2024 | United States | Series C | $100M | ||
Oct 31, 2024 | United Kingdom | Conventional Debt | $70M | - | |
Jul 17, 2024 | United States | Venture Debt | $100M | - | |
Jun 20, 2024 | United States | Series C | $125M |
Unicorns in Hercules Capital's Portfolio
Here is a list of unicorns in Hercules Capital's portfolio:
ÃØÃÜÑо¿Ëù Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
52 | Cloud based platform offering distributed directory management solutions | 2013 | Hoboken | Series C | icveakv | ||
73 | AI powered legal contract management software | 2012 | Lehi | Series D | mdonpbg | ||
59 | Provider of solutions for hydrogen generation | 2020 | San Carlos | Series C | kijslxf | ||
65 | Provider of cloud based relational database for enterprises | 2011 | San Francisco | Series F | qchvlmo | ||
77 | Cloud-based platform for on-demand staffing | 2008 | Madrid | Series F | lzuvobj |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Hercules Capital's Portfolio
Here are Hercules Capital's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 01, 2023 | Dec 26, 2023 | Convertible Debt | $22.5M | |
Jun 23, 2021 | - | - | - | |
Dec 18, 2020 | - | - | - | |
Nov 27, 2020 | Jun 30, 2015 | Conventional Debt | $25M | |
Oct 02, 2020 | - | - | - |
Acquired companies in Hercules Capital's Portfolio
Here are Hercules Capital's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 27, 2025 | 2016 | Venture Debt | $25M | |
May 13, 2025 | - | - | - | |
Feb 08, 2025 | - | - | - | |
Dec 02, 2024 | 2016 | Venture Debt | $25M | |
Nov 15, 2024 | - | - | - |
Team profile of Hercules Capital
Hercules Capital has a team of 9 membersÌýincluding 2 PartnersÌýlocated in United States.Co-investors of Hercules Capital
Over the past 20 years, 996 investors have co-invested in Hercules Capital's portfolio companies.
- Invested before Hercules Capital:ÌýVenrock, and 610 others have invested in rounds before Hercules Capital. There are 8 companies where Venrock has invested before Hercules Capital and 7 companies where MPM Capital has invested before Hercules Capital.
- Top Co-investors of Hercules Capital:Ìý131 investors entered a company along with Hercules Capital. These include investors like SVB (4 companies).
- Invested after Hercules Capital:ÌýA total of 253 investors have invested in Hercules Capital's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include (4 companies) and HHS (4 companies).
Recent News related to Hercules Capital
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MarketBeat•May 19, 2025•, Hercules Capital
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Seeking Alpha•May 01, 2025•Hercules Capital
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ABL Advisor•Mar 12, 2025•, Hercules Capital
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TipRanks•Mar 11, 2025•Hercules Capital
