Key takeaways
- Who lends: venture debt comes from specialist lenders such as Hercules Capital, TriplePoint Capital and Western Technology Investment, from large credit managers with a venture strategy such as Monroe Capital, and from banks such as Silicon Valley Bank. They lend to venture-backed companies, usually right after an equity round.
- The firms: Private Equity List lists 37 venture debt, growth debt and revenue-based financing lenders. 14 are in the US and 14 in Europe, 6 of them in the UK.
- Contacts: 36 of the 37 have investment-team contacts in their profiles, 362 people in total.
- Stage: 26 of the lenders back Series B companies and 25 back late-stage companies, against 18 at seed and 11 at pre-seed.
- New funds in 2026: 6 venture and growth debt funds so far, about $1.3B in total size. Claret Capital Partners' €575M ($632.5M) fourth fund is the largest.
- Revenue-based financing: 6 of the 37, including Clearco, Round2 and Tauros Capital, are repaid from a share of monthly revenue instead of a fixed loan schedule.
 United States | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
 Canada | |
 India | |
 Austria | |
 Spain |
Source: Private Equity List database
One lender each: 
Germany, 
France, 
Czech Republic, 
Netherlands, 
Singapore, 
Mexico and 
Kenya.
What is venture debt: a loan that sits next to an equity round
Venture debt: a loan to a venture-backed company that is still growing and often not yet profitable. The lender is repaid with interest and usually takes a small warrant, a right to buy a few shares later.
When companies take it: most often right after an equity round, to add months of runway without selling more of the company. Lenders lean on the new round as proof that investors still back the business.
How it is structured: typically a senior secured term loan. FlowCap Ventures, for example, describes its loans as senior secured with a small tranche of warrants and no personal guarantees.
What it is used for: runway, acquisitions and equipment. Western Technology Investment provides acquisition financing to revenue-generating companies, and Colesco Capital lends against first-of-a-kind clean-tech plants.
| Series B, $80M pre-money | All equity: $25M | $20M equity + $5M venture debt |
|---|---|---|
| New investors | 23.8% | 19.9% |
| Lender warrants | none | 0.3% |
| Existing shareholders | 76.2% | 79.8% |
Illustrative example, not data: replacing $5M of a $25M round with venture debt leaves existing shareholders about 3.6 points more of the company. The $5M is repaid with interest.
Who lends venture debt: specialist lenders, credit managers and banks
Specialist venture lenders: firms that lend mainly to venture-backed companies. Western Technology Investment has lent since 1980 and has backed more than 1,500 companies. TriplePoint Capital, Columbia Lake Partners, Kreos Capital and Orbit Capital work the same way in the US and Europe.
Business development companies: funds, many of them listed on a stock exchange, that lend to private companies. Hercules Capital describes itself as the largest business development company focused on venture lending, with loans to life sciences and technology companies.
Credit managers with a venture strategy: Monroe Capital runs venture debt next to direct lending and structured credit, and its affiliate Horizon Technology Finance has lent more than $3B in venture debt since 2004.
Banks: Silicon Valley Bank, now a division of First Citizens Bank, offers venture debt alongside commercial banking. In Munich, Deutsche Handelsbank lends to e-commerce, marketplace and SaaS companies.
Venture firms with a debt fund: Flashpoint Venture Capital runs Flashpoint Venture Debt Fund I next to its growth and secondary funds. Hambro Perks, ISAI and Sabadell Venture Capital also offer debt next to equity.
Venture debt lenders to know in the US, Europe and Asia
| Lender | Headquarters | What it lends | Cheque size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hercules Capital | Palo Alto | Venture debt and equity for life sciences and technology companies | $50–100M |
| TriplePoint Capital | Menlo Park | Venture debt for venture-backed companies at different stages | $10–50M |
| Western Technology Investment | Portola Valley | Venture debt since 1980, now from its 11th fund | $1–5M |
| Horizon Technology Finance | Farmington | Loans to technology and life sciences companies | $10–50M |
| Runway Growth Capital | Menlo Park | Loans to late and growth-stage companies | $10–150M |
| Trinity Capital | Phoenix | Term loans, revolving credit and equipment financing | $10–50M |
| Upper90 | New York | Credit facilities for fintech, e-commerce and marketplaces | $5–25M, up to $250M |
| Bigfoot Capital | Denver | Term loans to B2B software companies with $2M+ revenue | $1–5M |
| Claret Capital Partners | London | Growth debt for European technology, life sciences and impact companies | $50–100M |
| Columbia Lake Partners | London | Venture and term debt for European technology companies | $10–50M |
| Kreos Capital | London | Debt for growth companies in Europe and Israel, since 1998 | $10–50M |
| Orbit Capital | Prague | Venture and growth debt in Central and Eastern Europe | $5–10M |
| Colesco Capital | Amsterdam | Private credit for circular and climate-tech scale-ups | $50–100M |
| InnoVen Capital | Mumbai | Venture debt across India, China and Southeast Asia | $1–5M |
| Alteria Capital | Mumbai | Venture debt for VC-backed Indian startups | $10–50M |
| Genesis Alternative Ventures | Singapore | Venture debt for Series B and C companies in Southeast Asia | $10–50M |
| Anteris Capital | Mexico City | Mexico's first dedicated venture lending fund | $50–100M |
New venture debt funds of 2026: Claret, Orbit and FSE Group
| Claret Capital Partners | |
|---|---|
| Colesco Capital | |
| InnoVen Capital (target) | |
| Orbit Capital | |
| FSE Group | |
 Edge Growth |
Source: Private Equity List database
- Claret Capital Partners raised €575M ($632.5M) for Claret European Growth Capital Fund IV. Its loans go to European growth companies that would rather not sell more equity.
- Colesco Capital runs the €240M ($256.8M) Circular and Climate Credit Impact Fund, which lends to circular and climate-tech scale-ups. Venture capital firms bring it the deals.
- InnoVen Capital is aiming for $200M for InnoVen Healthcare Fund I, a debt fund for healthcare companies. IFC may join as an LP.
- Orbit Capital closed Growth Debt Fund II at €107M ($117.7M) for scale-ups in Central and Eastern Europe. PFR Ventures joined as an LP.
- FSE Group launched the £70M ($88.9M) Future London Growth Fund, with loans for London founders that banks and larger venture lenders pass over.
- Edge Growth held a $22M first close for its Scaleup Debt Fund for small and mid-sized companies in South Africa.
The typical fund: $159M across the six, by fund size as announced.
Venture debt vs equity: what a founder keeps and what it costs
Equity: the company sells shares. Nothing is repaid, but every round leaves existing shareholders with a smaller slice.
Venture debt: the company borrows. It pays interest and gives up a small warrant, so ownership barely moves.
The catch: a loan has to be repaid on schedule. A company that misses its plan still owes the money, and lenders can hold security over its assets.
When it fits: a recent equity round, revenue that is growing, and a clear use such as runway to the next milestone, an acquisition or equipment.
When it does not: no recent round, no path to revenue, or cash that would barely cover the repayments.
Revenue-based financing: repaid from a share of monthly revenue
How it works: the lender advances money and takes a fixed share of monthly revenue until an agreed amount is paid back. Payments rise in good months and fall in slow ones.
Who uses it: companies with steady revenue, often without venture backing, such as online shops and SaaS businesses.
Clearco: the Toronto firm, formerly Clearbanc, has funded more than 10,000 brands with over $3B, in amounts from $10K to $10M.
Round2 Capital Partners: a Vienna firm that has offered revenue-based finance to European scale-ups since 2017.
Tauros Capital: also in Vienna, it provides up to €2M to scale-ups and small and medium-sized companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Novel Growth Partners: up to $1M for early-stage software companies, with no equity and no personal guarantees.
Venture debt or revenue-based financing: venture debt suits venture-backed companies with a fresh round behind them. Revenue-based financing suits companies with steady revenue and no plans for a large equity round.
How to find venture debt lenders for your company
Start with the type: the debt funds list holds the dedicated lenders. The venture firms that also lend are in the venture capital list.
Narrow it down: in search, filter by stage, sector and country. Series B and late stage are the most common stages among venture lenders.
Check who just raised: a lender with a new fund has money to put to work. The new funds tracker lists each fund as it is announced.
Reach the team: 36 of the 37 lenders list partners and investment staff, 362 people in all. CSV export comes with the Pro+ plan.
Other debt: for buyouts and larger loans, see private credit funds and firms. For loans that sit between senior debt and equity, see mezzanine lenders.
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