The Top 18 VC Firms In Palo Alto [2024]

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Updated: January 20th, 2022

Are you looking for a VC firm for your Palo Alto based startup?

Finding the right investment firm for your startup can be a daunting task.

There are a number of successful venture capital firms in Palo Alto, and we've curated a list of the best local firms in the area. Additionally, we provide you with:

Investment size
Funding stages
Typical industries the firm works with
Well known companies the VC firm has invested in

Here's the list:

1. Hercules Capital

Location: Palo Alto, CA, Boston, MA, New York, NY, Washington, DC, Westport, CT, San Diego, CA, Chicago, IL.
Industries: Technology, Life Science, Sustainable + Renewable Technology
Investment Range: $5Million - $200Million
Stage: Seed Stage
Companies invested in: Axsome therapeutics, bicycle therapeutics, ChemoCentryx, BitSight, AppDirect, Thumbtack, C2FO, Campaign Monitor, Zocdoc

Hercules Capital invests in companies focusing on Technology, Life Sciences, sustainable and renewable energy. The VC firm offers venture debt, an alternative debt financing approach to complement the existing venture capital equity.

Hercules invests between $5Million and $200 million and ensures experienced business leaders help the portfolio companies attain their investment goals.

Learn more about Hercules Capital ➜

2. Norwest Venture Partners

Location: San Francisco, Palo Alto, CA
Industries: Healthcare
Investment Range: $5Million-$200Million
Stage: Seed, Growth, and Buyout Stages
Companies invested in: Silkroad Medical, TalkSpace, Omada, Neocis, Qventus, Capsugel.

Norwest Venture Partners invests in healthcare-focused companies at the venture, growth equity, and buyout stages. The VC invests between $5M to $200M and focuses on adding value by providing businesses access to seasoned teams to help the businesses tackle daily challenges.

Norwest Venture Partners backs companies that focus on healthcare services, pharmaceutical services, healthcare, IT, Technology, consumer, and digital health.

Learn more about Norwest Venture Partners ➜

3. Sapphire Ventures

Location: Palo Alto, CA
Industries: Sport, consumer, entreprise
Investment Range: $10M - $50M
Stage: Seed Stage, Series A
Companies invested in: 6Sense, Aglet, Aepona, ActivTrak, Apigee, CircleCI, Clari, Control4, Contentful, Currencycloud.

Sapphire Ventures is a venture capital firm focusing on providing startups go-to-market, business development, talent, and capital markets services. The VC firm helps startups gain access to insightful content and benchmarks across each business function.

Besides, Sapphire Ventures ensure best practices and advisory solutions across all business areas, while providing peer-to-peer learning opportunities and events. Their typical investments range between $10 Million and $50 Million, with `flexibility to invest less or up to $100 Million

Learn more about Sapphire Ventures ➜

4. Accel Partners

Location: Sydney, London, Palo Alto, CA, Bengaluru, India, Karnataka, India
Industries: Technology
Investment Range: $50M - $75M
Stage: Seed Stage, Series A, Series B
Companies invested in: 1Password, Ada, Algolia, Away, BlackBuck, Chainalysis, BrowserStack, Checkr, Cognite, Cohesity, Ethos.
No. of Investments made : 1793
No. of Portfolio Exits: 349

Accel Partners provides investment capital to both early-stage and growth-stage companies working in the technology sector. The VC firm helps global entrepreneurs by providing funding and helping entrepreneurs through business decision-making.

Their investments range is $50M - $75M, and the company brings decades of experience in building and supporting companies.

Learn more about Accel Partners ➜

5. Alloy Ventures

Location: Palo Alto, CA
Industries: Information technology, Cleantech, and Life sciences firms
Investment Range: $1M - $5M
Stage: Seed Stage
Companies invested in: Alloy Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focusing in the areas of life sciences, information technology, and cleantech. The VC firm's typical investments fall in the range of $1million to $5Million. Since its inception, the VC firm has helped more than 200 companies ranging from software firms to medical device manufacturers.

Alloy Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focusing on the areas of life sciences, information technology, and cleantech. The VC firm's typical investment is in the range of $1million to $5Million. For decades, the VC firm has helped more than 200 companies ranging from software firms to medical device manufacturers.

Learn more about Alloy Ventures ➜

6. American Express Ventures

Learn more about American Express Ventures ➜

7. Next47

Location: Kupfergraben, Israel, Palo Alto, Berlin, Germany
Industries: BioTech, Edtech, Financial Services, Finance
Investment Range: Non Disclosed
Stage: Seed-Stage
Companies invested in: 15Five, Bizzabo, Datagrail, Fair

Next47 specializes in enterprise-focused businesses, this company offers the best benefits and resources to the teams they invest in. Next47 has the resources and the motivation to unleash the maximum potential in every startup and entrepreneur.

Learn more about Next47 ➜

8. True Ventures

Location: Great Falls, VA, Palo Alto, CA
Industries: Personal wellness, Robotics, therapeutics, Climate Technologies, and Ocean Exploration.
Investment Range: Not Disclosed
Stage: Seed Stage
Companies invested in: Zymergen, Peloton, Fitbit, Blue Bottle Coffee, Ring, Bear Flag Robotics, Evident.io, BrightRoll.

True Ventures provides financial capital and human capital to help entrepreneurs bring their vision to life. The VC firm ensures an open and honest interaction, ensuring the founders feel supported, and feel ready to take more risks.

The firm provides a wealth of educational sessions on relevant topics required to build a business.

Learn more about True Ventures ➜

9. Catapult VC

Location: Palo Alto, CA
Industries: Consumer, Enterprise, Internet, Software, Services, Venture Capital, Venture Debt, Fintech, Mobile, Healthcare Services, Financial Services, and Storage
Investment Range: Not Disclosed
Stage: Seed stage, Early-stage, and Later-stage
Companies invested in: Akido, Alcove, Astra, Ayez, Bizly, blue Cargo, Auditfile, Branch8, Bright, BullDog, Cabify.

Catapult VC invests in Seed stage, early-stage, and later-stage companies focusing on software solutions. Typically, the VC firm has interests in companies that have the ability to become dominant platform companies.

Catapult aims at creating a world where creative, flexible, and cost-effective forms of capital move freely and support the best impact-oriented companies and entrepreneurs.

Learn more about Catapult VC ➜

10. AllegisCyber Capital

Location: Palo Alto, CA
Industries: Cybersecurity
Investment Range: Not Disclosed
Stage: Seed Stage
Companies invested in: Area 1, Callsign, Dragos, IronPort, Lucidworks, 8Security, eFileCabinet, Safeguard Cyber, Symplified, Solera Networks.

AllegisCyber Capital offers seed-stage venture capital to companies focusing on cybersecurity.

Passionate about businesses that address crucial issues in the fast-changing cybersecurity landscape, Allegis Cyber capital provides the necessary knowledge and solid communication required to develop the next generation of technology companies that focus on protecting the global technology infrastructure.

Learn more about AllegisCyber Capital ➜

11. Costanoa Ventures

Location: Palo Alto, CA, San Francisco
Industries: Fintech,Data/ML infrastructure, Modern SaaS, future Workforce, and security
Investment Range: Not Disclosed
Stage: Seed Stage, Series A
Companies invested in: Alation, AppOmni, Bigeye, Fossa, DemandBase, Lively, Muon Space, Propeller, Quizleet, Noyo.

Costanoa Ventures invests in early-stage and series A startups focusing on fintech, Data / ML infrastructure, Modern SaaS, Future workforce, and security. The VC firm ensures hands-on involvement, sharing their knowledge and experience to incubate the companies they invest in.

The VC firm balances fast growth and fiscal responsibility helping portfolio companies survive and thrive in different markets.

Learn more about Costanoa Ventures ➜

12. Asset Management Ventures

Location: Palo Alto, CA
Industries: Digital health, technology and life sciences companies
Investment Range: Not Disclosed
Stage: Seed Stage, Series A
Companies invested in: Amygdala, Applied biosystems, applied Micro, Amgen, Audentes, Biogen IDEC, Arterys, BiPar Sciences, Cardiogen Sciences.

Asset Management Ventures targets the leading early-stage digital health startups focusing on life sciences and technology. The Venture Capitalist has extensive operating experience and an unparallel network of digital health stakeholders who aid entrepreneurs.

Since its inception, Asset Management Ventures takes an active role in assisting the founders to tackle typical early-stage challenges, including hiring, strategic focus, technical development, developing a sales channel, and forming business partnerships.

Learn more about Asset Management Ventures ➜

13. Capricorn Investment Group

Location: Palo Alto, New York
Industries: Renewable energy infrastructure, renewable resources, clean technology, health and wellness, and energy efficiency
Investment Range: Not Disclosed
Stage: Seed Stage
Companies invested in: Navitas, Helion, electric Hydrogen, Nuvia, Twelve, Joby Aviation, Redwood Materials, Electra steel, Seurat.

Capricorn Investment Group seeks to deliver extraordinary investments in startups focusing on renewable energy infrastructure, renewable resources, clean technology, health and wellness, and energy efficiency.

Since its inception, Capricorn Investment Group has grown to manage more than $8Billion in multiple asset portfolios. The VC firm has remained focused on empowering the entrepreneurs, providing them the power and the skills they need to address the world’s greatest challenges.

Therefore, the VC firm seeks out partnerships with talented individuals who work towards creating innovative business solutions.

Learn more about Capricorn Investment Group ➜

14. Symphony Technology Group Partners

Location: Palo Alto, CA
Industries: software, data, and analytics
Investment Range: Not disclosed
Stage: Seed Stage
Companies invested in: Traceone, Escalent, Poplicus, Personica, Nomis, Jobrapido, Cadmium, Dodge construction Network.

STG(Symphony Technology Group) Partners seeks to find, transform, and build outstanding technology companies. The VC firm targets the customer-centric market winners, and invests in them, helping them build solutions that solve customer problems.

STG partners offer their portfolio companies a startup environment ideal for software and AI engineers, data scientist, and analyst, supporting them to build successful enterprises.

Learn more about Symphony Technology Group Partners ➜

15. UniWill Ventures

Location: Palo Alto, Seattle,
Industries: Technology
Investment Range: Not Disclosed
Stage: Seed Stage
Companies invested in: Metron, Cider, Plaid, Equipment Share, Relativity, Invi Labs, Marcus, OriLab, Junzi, solarAccess, Lafayette Coffe.

UniWill Ventures is a venture capital firm focusing on seed-stage technology companies. Typically, the VC firm targets companies that work towards creating Ag-Tech, Fin-Tech, Ed-Tech, Clean-Tech AI, Space Access, and waste management solutions.

UnWill Ventures works towards ensuring bold, diligent, and innovative entrepreneurs. Therefore, the VC firm gives special attention to the promising seed-stage and minority startups.

Learn more about UniWill Ventures ➜

16. Citta Capital

Location: Palo alto, CA
Industries: Technology
Investment Range: Not Disclosed
Stage: Seed Stage
Companies invested in: Zeit Medical, Openprise

Citta Capital is an early-stage VC firm focusing on technology companies.

The VC firm works with founders and entrepreneurs to create companies that compete globally. Consisting of seasoned management teams, the VC firm supports the portfolio companies ensuring their success.

Learn more about Citta Capital ➜

17. Translink Capital

Location: Palo alto, CA, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo
Industries: Digital Health, E-commerce, Blockchain, Fintech, Gaming, Robotics, and semiconductor sectors
Investment Range: Not Disclosed
Stage: Seed Stage, Series A
Companies invested in: Alfi, AirPlug, Aktila, Appcelerator, Appier, Carbonite, Chartboost, Axonne.

Translink Capital invests in founders and innovative, seed-stage & series A companies focusing on Digital Health, E-commerce, Blockchain, Fintech, Gaming, Robotics, and semiconductor sectors. helping them to succeed.

The VC firm provides funding for innovative and early-stage startups, empowering them to become the most successful global multinationals.

Learn more about Translink Capital ➜

18. UpWest

Location: Palo Alto, CA
Industries: Digital healthcare, cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise SaaS.
Investment Range: Not Disclosed
Stage: Pre-seed, Seed-Stage
Companies invested in: Codefresh, simpo, Anyword, jolt, BeeHero, Neura

UpWest VC fund targets Israeli founders and entrepreneurs breaking into the US market. The VC firm leads seed rounds by investing in early-stage ventures. Ideally, UpWest invests at the startup stages where they add the most impact. The VC firm backs cross-domain enterprises from digital healthcare, cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise SaaS.

Learn more about UpWest ➜

meet the author

Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.

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