Hercules Capital
- Company typePublic
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersSan Mateo, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Hercules Capital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hercules Capital
- Legal name
- Hercules Capital, Inc.
- Website
- https://htgc.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hercules Capital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Lending / Specialty Finance
- NAICS
- Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Commercial Banking (522110)
- SIC
- Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Venture Debt with Warrants (Hybrid Debt-Equity) (FSANAIAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Independent Venture Debt Funds / Platforms (FSANAIAB), Venture Growth / Recurring Revenue Credit Funds (FSANAIAG)
Keywords
Where Hercules Capital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Mateo
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Hercules Capital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Interest income from senior secured debt investments: Primary revenue stream from interest income on a portfolio of senior secured venture growth loans. Q1 2026 total investment income reached $141.5 million, up 18.4% year-over-year, with $123.4M in total interest income. Portfolio is 98% floating-rate, providing yield upside as base rates rise. Effective portfolio yield was 12.8% in Q1 2026.
- Equity investment returns and warrants: Equity co-investments alongside debt positions, generating returns through capital gains, dividends, and warrant exercises. Variable component contributes to the supplemental dividend (e.g., $0.07 supplemental added to base $0.40 dividend in Q1 2026).
- Net Investment Income (NII): Record NII of $88.1 million ($0.48 per share) in Q1 2026, representing a 14% year-over-year increase. NII covered the dividend at 120%, demonstrating strong earnings support with $149.1M in spillover income available.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom venture debt financing — quote-based, not publicly disclosed |
| Usage-based | Multi-year contract | Sample deal: Lexicon Pharmaceuticals — $100M loan facility at prime + 3.1% with 9.85% floor, 18-month interest-only period |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Hercules Capital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hercules Capital provides non-dilutive senior secured venture debt and equity co-investments to venture-backed and growth-stage technology and life sciences companies. The company originates customized floating-rate loan facilities — typically priced at prime plus a spread with interest-only periods — alongside equity co-investments and milestone-based tranches, supporting use cases from clinical development and runway extension to acquisitions and IPO preparation.
Product overview
Hercules Capital operates as a single unified specialty finance platform — the largest business development company (BDC) focused on venture lending — structured around two core service verticals: Hercules Capital Technology Lending and Hercules Capital Life Sciences Lending. Together, these verticals form the company's non-dilutive growth capital offering for innovative, venture-backed entrepreneurs and their VC partners across technology and life sciences sectors. Beyond its core lending business, Hercules Capital also operates the Ventured Growth Podcast as a thought leadership and brand-building platform, featuring CFO and founder conversations that reinforce its position in the innovation economy. Since inception in December 2003, Hercules has committed over $27 billion to more than 700 companies, with a dedicated Technology Group (led by Steve Kuo) and Life Sciences Group (led by R. Bryan Jadot) operating as integrated sub-platforms within the larger BDC.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Ventured Growth: Hercules Capital's branded podcast featuring interviews with finance leaders and innovators.
Products and services
- Hercules Capital Technology Lending
Quantifiable outcome
- $1.81 billion record new debt and equity commitments in Q1 2026
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Hercules Capital
Customer profileNamed customers19 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Hercules Capital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Hercules Capital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core service provider and featured portfolio company / co-promotion.
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPcore service providerPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is Hercules Capital's independent auditor, with ratification of PwC as auditor for 2026 on the agenda of the June 18, 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Proxy statement was filed on April 23, 2026.
- Fin (Intercom)featured portfolio company / co-promotionFeatured portfolio company; Hercules Capital featured Fin's CFO Dan Griggs on the Ventured Growth podcast discussing Fin's $250 million in debt financing from Hercules and the AI-native customer service transformation. Intercom rebranded to Fin on May 12, 2026.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hercules Capital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Ares Capital: Largest publicly traded BDC (NASDAQ: ARCC) managed by Ares Management. Operates a much broader middle-market direct lending strategy rather than specializing in venture-backed tech and life sciences, but is the dominant incumbent in the BDC category.
- Golub Capital: Large alternative credit manager with a venture lending unit that competes for direct lending deals. Broader middle-market focus but with venture debt capabilities that overlap with Hercules.
- Stifel Financial: Diversified financial services firm with a venture lending group (acquired from PacWest) that competes for tech venture debt deals. Several Hercules MDs (e.g., Ruslan Sergeyev) came from Stifel's venture lending team.
- Blue Owl Capital: Large alternative asset manager with venture lending capabilities including direct lending to growth-stage companies. Competes indirectly through its private credit funds, including co-investment alongside Hercules in deals like Perk.
Direct peers
- Trinity Capital: Publicly traded business development company (NASDAQ: TRIN) providing venture debt and equipment financing to growth-stage technology and life sciences companies. Highly comparable business model, including sponsor finance and life sciences verticals.
- TriplePoint Capital: Direct venture debt competitor focused on technology and life sciences growth-stage companies with senior secured loans and warrants. Closest comparable in terms of vertical focus, ticket size, and equity co-investment model.
- MidCap Financial: Specialty finance company (Apollo-managed) providing senior secured loans to growth and middle-market companies across healthcare, technology, and life sciences. Competes head-to-head with Hercules in life sciences venture lending.
- Runway Growth Finance: Publicly traded specialty finance company (NASDAQ: RWAY) providing senior secured loans to venture and non-venture growth-stage companies, with overlap in tech and life sciences verticals.
- Oxford Finance: Specialty finance firm (now part of Axos Financial) that provides senior secured loans to life sciences and healthcare companies. Several Hercules executives, including Adam Soller, came from Oxford, highlighting direct competitive overlap.
- Horizon Technology Finance: BDC (NASDAQ: HRZN) that provides secured loans to development-stage and venture-backed technology, life sciences, healthcare, and sustainability companies. Closely mirrors Hercules' venture lending strategy and loan structure.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hercules Capital social profiles
Digital presenceHercules Capital compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Hercules Capital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hercules Capital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Hercules Capital subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Hercules Capital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors14 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hercules Capital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments347 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hercules Capital
What does Hercules Capital do?
Hercules Capital provides non-dilutive senior secured venture debt and equity co-investments to venture-backed and growth-stage technology and life sciences companies. The company originates customized floating-rate loan facilities — typically priced at prime plus a spread with interest-only periods — alongside equity co-investments and milestone-based tranches, supporting use cases from clinical development and runway extension to acquisitions and IPO preparation.
Is Hercules Capital a public or private company?
Hercules Capital is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Hercules Capital founded?
Hercules Capital was founded in 2003. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Hercules Capital based?
Hercules Capital is headquartered in San Mateo, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hercules Capital make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Interest income from senior secured debt investments are the primary driver. The others are equity investment returns and warrants and net Investment Income (NII).
Who are Hercules Capital's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Ares Capital, Golub Capital, Stifel Financial and Blue Owl Capital. Direct peers are Trinity Capital, TriplePoint Capital, MidCap Financial, Runway Growth Finance, Oxford Finance and Horizon Technology Finance.
Does Hercules Capital have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hercules Capital.
What industry is Hercules Capital in?
Hercules Capital's product category is Venture Lending / Specialty Finance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAIAI, Venture Debt with Warrants (Hybrid Debt-Equity), with a secondary code of FSANAIAB, Independent Venture Debt Funds / Platforms. Its NAICS code is 525 and its SIC code is 6153.