When was Hercules Capital founded?

Hercules Capital was founded in 2003.

Where is Hercules Capital's headquarters located?

Hercules Capital's headquarters is located in Palo Alto (United States).

How many companies has Hercules Capital invested in?

Hercules Capital has invested in 426 companies, including DocuSign & Thumbtack.

Which companies has Hercules Capital invested in lately?

Suki & Capitolis are the latest investments by Hercules Capital.

What sectors does Hercules Capital focus on for investments?

Top sectors in Hercules Capital's portfolio are Enterprise Applications (150 investments) and Life Sciences (139 investments).

How many exits has Hercules Capital been involved in?

Hercules Capital's portfolio has seen 75 IPOs and 184 acquisitions.

How many unicorns are there in Hercules Capital's portfolio?

There are 24 unicorns in Hercules Capital's portfolio.

Hercules Capital - 2026 Investor Profile, Portfolio, Team & Investment Trends

Q: How big is Hercules Capital's investment team?

Hercules Capital has a team of 8.

1. DocuSign

Provider of electronic signature and intelligent agreement management platform solutions. The platform offers tools for contract lifecycle management, agreement preparation, and agreement workflow automation. It provides features such as electronic notarization, web forms, and multi-channel delivery options. The platform extends its capabilities through integrations, APIs, and a mobile application.

Key facts about DocuSign

Founded Year: 2003
Location: San Francisco (United States)
Stage: Public
Total Funding till date: $520M
Employee Count: 8,545 as on Sep 30, 2026
Investors: HTIF, Glynn Capital and 92 Others
Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Jul 20, 2020, $*****
Highlight: Public

2. Thumbtack

App based platform to connect users with local service professionals. The platform allows users to find, compare, and hire professionals for plumbing, house cleaning, landscaping, and photography. It allows customers to describe requirements in detail based on questions asked on the platform and it deliver custom quotes from vetted professionals. It enables users to compare prices, see reviews, and hire a professional online.

Key facts about Thumbtack

Founded Year: 2008
Location: San Francisco (United States)
Valuation: $*****
Stage: Series H
Total Funding till date: $699M
Employee Count: 1,807 as on Sep 30, 2026
Investors: Founders Circle Capital, Baillie Gifford and 23 Others
Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, Jul 31, 2024, $*****
Highlight: Editors' Pick

3. Facebook

Operator of a social networking service facilitating connection and communication. Its services allows users to connect with friends, family, and other individuals. It provides tools for sharing updates, photos, and videos. The platform also offers features for creating and joining groups, following interests, and discovering content.

Key facts about Facebook

Founded Year: 2004
Location: Menlo Park (United States)
Annual Revenue: $1B+ as on Dec 31, 2025
Stage: Public
Total Funding till date: $1.77B
Employee Count: 23,339 as on Sep 30, 2026
Investors: Sprout Capital Partners, Meritech and 121 Others
Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Jan 15, 2017, $*****
Highlight: Public

4. Ancestry

Ancestry is a provider of an online genealogy platform offering a host of services. It offers family history information, historical records, and other genealogical information. It enables users to create their family tree and helps them discover, preserve and share their family history. The company uses microarray-based autosomal DNA testing technology and an online family history resource to predict family connections and relatives. The company offers a subscription-based service. The company claims its online resource contains all relevant Federal Census records since 1790 (Archives).

Key facts about Ancestry

Founded Year: 1996
Location: Lehi (United States)
Annual Revenue: $500M - $1B as on Dec 31, 2015
Last Known Valuation: $*****
Stage: Acquired
Total Funding till date: $446M
Employee Count: 1,872 as on Sep 30, 2026
Investors: Meritech, Adams Street Partners and 19 Others
Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Apr 2016, $*****
Highlight: Acquired

5. Palantir

Platform that provides data analysis and management solutions. It is a software company that specializes in big data analytics and provides software platforms for analyzing and integrating large amounts of data. Its software powers real-time, AI-driven decisions in critical government and commercial enterprise, from the factory floors to the front lines.

Key facts about Palantir

Founded Year: 2003
Location: Denver (United States)
Stage: Public
Total Funding till date: $2.46B
Employee Count: 5,915 as on Sep 30, 2026
Investors: Western Technology Investment, Glynn Capital and 171 Others
Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Aug 31, 2023, $*****
Highlight: Public

View the full list of portfolio companies

Hercules Capital has invested in 428 companies over the last 21 years, with an average of 7 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 6 investments, while as of Oct 2026, it has made 10 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Suki and most recent follow-on round was in Tipalti.

Here are Hercules Capital's Year-on-Year Investment Trends:

Year	No. of Investments
Year	1^st Round	Follow-on	Total
2026 (YTD)	10	0	10
2025	5	1	6
2024	8	0	8
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

View all investments by Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital has made 57 investments in Venture Debt stage with an average round size of $32.8M, 55 investments in Conventional Debt stage with an average round size of $67.5M and 14 investments in Series D stage with an average round size of $62.1M.

Here are Hercules Capital's investments by stage:

Stage of entry	No. of Investments
Venture Debt	57
Conventional Debt	55
Series D	14
Series E	12
Series B	11
Others	32

Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments

View all investments by Hercules Capital

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 337 Tech companies, 322 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 175 Software companies and at least 84 companies focusing on Saas.

Here are Hercules Capital's investments by sector:

Sector	No. of Investments
Life Sciences	69
Enterprise Applications	57
High Tech	30
Enterprise Infrastructure	19
Consumer	18
Others	137

Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments

View all investments by Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital has made most investments in United States (153), followed by United Kingdom where it has made 6 investments.

Here are Hercules Capital's investments by geography:

Country	No. of Investments
United States	153
United Kingdom	6
Canada	4
Germany	3
Australia	2
Others	13

Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments

View all investments by Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital has made 10 investments in 2026 so far. Suki and Capitolis are the latest among them.

Here are the most recent investments by Hercules Capital:

Filter this list

Date	Company	Location	Round Details	Round Amount	Co-Investors
Oct 13, 2026	Suki	United States	Series E	1416	Healthier Capital [+6]
Oct 06, 2026	Capitolis	United States	Conventional Debt	2963	First Citizens Bank [+1]
Oct 02, 2026	NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes	United States	Conventional Debt	1073	-
Aug 03, 2026	Valar Atomics	United States	Conventional Debt	4812	Erebor [+2]
Jun 10, 2026	Beren Therapeutics	United States	Conventional Debt	8435	-

See more recent investments made by Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital has 24 unicorns in its portfolio - Hermeus, Valar Atomics, Semperis and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Hermeus. It became a unicorn in 2026.

Here is a list of unicorns in Hercules Capital's portfolio:

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Tracxn Score	Company	Short Description	Founded year	Sector	Location	Company Stage	First Investment/ Acquisition Details
68	Hermeus	Manufacturer of supersonic aircraft	2018	Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Tech	Atlanta	Series C	udkyqoa
62	Valar Atomics	Manufacturer of nuclear fission reactors	2023	High Tech [+2]	El Segundo	Series B	r{uvlhs
66	Semperis	Provider of Active Directory and Entra ID security and recovery solutions	2013	Enterprise Infrastructure [+1]	Hoboken	Series C	enssanm
60	Electric Hydrogen	Manufacturer of advanced electrolyzer systems for clean hydrogen production solutions	2020	Energy Tech [+2]	San Carlos	Series C	kmlwwgt
69	Capitolis	Offers trade management solutions for investors	2016	FinTech [+1]	New York City	Series E	belowfl

View more details about unicorns in Hercules Capital's portfolio

75 of Hercules Capital's portfolio companies have become public. HawkEye 360 got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in May 2026 at marketcap of $2.42B and enGene got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ).

Here are Hercules Capital's portfolio companies that went public:

Filter this list

Company	IPO Date	First Invested on	First Round of Investment	Round Size
HawkEye 360	May 07, 2026	Dec 18, 2025	Series E	8424
enGene	Nov 01, 2023	Dec 26, 2023	Convertible Debt	6358
Sprinklr	Jun 23, 2021	-	-	1512
908 Devices	Dec 18, 2020	-	-	9709
Proterra	Nov 27, 2020	Jun 30, 2015	Conventional Debt	7063

View more details about public companies in Hercules Capital's portfolio

184 companies from Hercules Capital's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Nasty Gal in Sep 2026 by WSG Brands for $*****.

Here are Hercules Capital's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:

Filter this list

Company	Acquisition Date	First Invested on	First Round of Investment	Round Size
Nasty Gal	Sep 15, 2026	-	-	3619
XOMA Corporation	Jul 14, 2026	-	-	9723
C2FO	Jul 03, 2026	-	-	9700
Contentful	Jun 01, 2026	Dec 05, 2018	Series D	3897
Sirion	Jan 09, 2026	-	-	7290

View all acquired companies in Hercules Capital's portfolio

Hercules Capital has a team of 8 members including 2 Partners located in United States.

View team details of Hercules Capital

Over the past 21 years, 1208 investors have co-invested in Hercules Capital's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.

Invested before Hercules Capital: SVB, Venrock and 756 others have invested in rounds before Hercules Capital. There are 9 companies where SVB has invested before Hercules Capital and 9 companies where Venrock has invested before Hercules Capital.
Top Co-investors of Hercules Capital: 164 investors entered a company along with Hercules Capital. These include investors like SVB (7 companies).
Invested after Hercules Capital: A total of 286 investors have invested in Hercules Capital's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Goldman Sachs (5 companies) and Europa (4 companies).