What Acequia Capital (AceCap) does

Acequia Capital is a Seattle-based, privately held early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2010 by Hank Vigil, a former Microsoft SVP of Strategy & Partnerships. The firm operates an "operating-partner-led" model centered on a distributed, global network of founders, companies, and investors that sources and supports technical founding teams building across the full technology stack, with current 350+ portfolio companies concentrated in sectors including AI & Machine Learning, Commerce, New Industrials, Infrastructure, Logistics, Life Sciences, Gaming & Expression, Software & Knowledge Worker Tooling, and Financial Technology. Notable outcomes include 23 unicorn companies such as Tulip Interfaces, Stoke Space, Radiant, and Formlabs, and the firm has published a formal 'New Industrials' investment thesis around bringing software and machine intelligence to legacy industrial sectors.

The firm offers portfolio companies more than capital, providing operational support on product roadmap, technology strategy, business model design, and go-to-market execution through a senior bench of partners and venture partners drawn from Microsoft, Amazon, Unity, Northrop Grumman, J.P. Morgan, EQT Ventures, and defense and energy operators. Leadership includes Managing Partner Hank Vigil, General Partner Leif Danielsen (US, Europe, SE Asia coverage, ex-Amazon), European Partner Marc Jalabert (ex-Microsoft GM Western Europe), and dedicated sector partners for AI/ML/Software (Todd Hooper) and Hardware/Industrials (Mack Hopen), supported by COO Rauten Hofmeyr and CFO Chris Strand.

As a venture capital firm, Acequia's revenue model is not publicly disclosed but is consistent with standard early-stage fund economics, namely management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on realized gains, supplemented by value-added support to portfolio founders. The firm has no public listing, no disclosed fund size, and no publicly available AUM, and reports ongoing deployment activity in 2026 through seed-stage investments such as Devplan ($2.5M) and Rapidata ($8.5M).

Name

Acequia Capital (AceCap)

Legal name

Acequia Capital

Website

https://www.acecap.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Acequia Capital is a Seattle-based, privately held early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2010 by former Microsoft executive Hank Vigil, operating a distributed-network model that has backed 350+ technology companies and produced 23 unicorns across AI/ML, New Industrials, and software.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Early-Stage Investment

NAICS

Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategic Partnership & Ecosystem Investment Arms (FSANAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Venture Studios & Incubators (Build/launch ventures) (FSANAHAC), Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Technology startup investing
• Seed stage funding
• Portfolio company support
• Industrial technology investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

Acequia Capital is an early-stage venture capital investment platform that provides funding, operational guidance on product roadmap and technology strategy, and business model and go-to-market execution support to technology startups. The firm has invested in more than 350 technology companies across AI/ML, Commerce, New Industrials, Infrastructure, Logistics, Life Sciences, Gaming, and Financial Technology, and operates the Acecap Network as a global innovation ecosystem that sources deal flow and supports technical founders.

Product overview

Acequia Capital is an early-stage investment platform founded in 2010 by Microsoft veteran Hank Vigil. The firm has invested in more than 350 technology companies and operates a full-stack platform approach offering funding, operational guidance on product roadmap and technology strategy, and business model and go-to-market execution support. The Acecap Network provides a global innovation ecosystem that sources deal flow and attracts technical founders. The portfolio is organized across several technology focus areas including AI & Machine Learning (with companies such as Supernormal, Tractable, Deepset, Griptape, Hyperscience, and Picsellia), Commerce, New Industrials (including Atomic Industries, Formlabs, Stoke Space, Radiant, Tulip Interfaces, and Harbinger Motors), Infrastructure, Logistics, Life Sciences, Gaming & Expression, Software & Knowledge Worker Tooling, and Financial Technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early-Stage Venture Capital Investment Equity capital investment in seed and early-stage technology companies across AI/ML, Commerce, New Industrials, Infrastructure, Logistics, Life Sciences, Gaming, Software, and Financial Technology, for founders and product teams building the next wave of global technology businesses.
• Portfolio Company Operational Support Hands-on operational guidance for portfolio companies on product roadmap, technology strategy, and business model and go-to-market execution, provided by the Acequia partnership and venture partner network.
• Acecap Network Distributed, diversified network of founders, companies, and investors that sources highly qualified, scarce, and global early-stage deal flow and transfers best practices, operational learning, and financing support into emerging technical centers of innovation.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Founders Collective: Early-stage venture capital firm investing in technical founders across a similarly broad tech stack. Comparable in stage focus, distributed partner model, and emphasis on a small, senior team backing large portfolios.
• Maveron: Early-stage venture firm with a small partnership structure backing consumer and tech companies. Comparable in fund size profile, stage focus, and operator-led investment approach.
• Lux Capital: Early-stage firm specializing in deep tech, hardware, and industrial applications of science and AI. Highly comparable to Acequia's 'New Industrials' thesis and similar portfolio mix of technically intensive bets.
• Lerer Hippeau: Early-stage venture firm investing in tech-enabled companies with a small senior team and broad portfolio approach. Comparable in stage, structure, and founder-centric positioning.
• 8VC: Early-stage firm backing tech companies across logistics, industrials, and software. Comparable in thesis-driven investing, operator-led partnership, and focus on technical founders building in physical industries.
• DCVC (Data Collective): Early-stage deep tech and computational venture firm. Comparable in focus on AI/ML infrastructure, industrials, and science-driven companies, similar to Acequia's AI and New Industrials pillars.

Regional players

• Madrona Venture Group: Seattle-based early-stage tech VC. Comparable in geography (Pacific Northwest tech ecosystem), stage focus, and Microsoft-pedigree network overlap with Acequia's leadership.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz: Large multi-stage venture firm with broad sector coverage including AI, industrials, and consumer tech. Represents the mega-fund competitive set that Acequia must differentiate against at the early stage.
• Sequoia Capital: Premier global venture firm investing across stages and sectors. Sets the bar for early-stage tech deal flow and serves as a competing LP magnet for founder allocations.
• Founders Fund: San Francisco-based venture firm known for deep tech and frontier-technology bets. Closest broad incumbent to Acequia's industrials-and-AI portfolio orientation and contrarian thesis-driven style.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments514 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Acequia Capital (AceCap)