# Firsthand Capital

> Firsthand Capital is a VC fund backing Manufacturing and Semiconductor. See 14 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: San Jose, United States
- Total investments: 14
- Last investment: Mar 2022
- Lead investor: 29%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- Website: http://www.firsthandcapital.com

Firsthand Capital is a VC fund in San Jose focused on Manufacturing and Semiconductor. Founded in 1994, Firsthand Capital Management is a California-based investment management firm focused on the technology sector.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Firsthand Capital. Shizune tracks 2 team members at Firsthand Capital. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/firsthand-capital-management?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Manufacturing | 4 | 29% |
| Semiconductor | 4 | 29% |
| Telecommunications | 3 | 21% |
| Internet | 2 | 14% |
| Software | 2 | 14% |

26 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series C | 4 | 29% |
| Series B | 3 | 21% |
| Series D | 2 | 14% |
| Funding Round | 2 | 14% |
| Seed | 1 | 7% |

7 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 11 | 79% |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 7% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Julio Moncada | Investment Associate | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/julio-moncada |
| Mithun Baphana | Product Manager | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mithun-baphana |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sprout | Sprout is the first solution in Asia to offer cloud-based, automated Stakeholder Management software as a service. | $3M | Seed | Mar 30, 2022 |  |
| SoloPower | SoloPower is a producer of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules. The company's mission is to mass-produce PV modules for ubiquitous applications on a global scale at a cost that is lower than the traditional wafer-based solar technologies and at parity with that of the conventional power grid. SoloPower is manufacturing andcommercializing a new generation of high-efficiency, low-cost Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide (CIGS) based devices to enable solar electricity generation at a cost that is competitive with traditional methods. | $30M | Series B | Jul 30, 2007 |  |
| Solaicx | Solaicx, manufactures and sells mono-crystalline silicon ingots and wafers. It serves solar cell and module manufacturers in the photovoltaic industry. Solaicx, was founded in 2002 and is based in Santa Clara, California with a production facility in Portland, Oregon. | $27.1M | Series C | May 08, 2007 |  |
| SoloPower | SoloPower is a producer of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules. The company's mission is to mass-produce PV modules for ubiquitous applications on a global scale at a cost that is lower than the traditional wafer-based solar technologies and at parity with that of the conventional power grid. SoloPower is manufacturing andcommercializing a new generation of high-efficiency, low-cost Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide (CIGS) based devices to enable solar electricity generation at a cost that is competitive with traditional methods. | $10M |  | Mar 05, 2007 |  |
| Global Locate | Global Locate offers semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. It provides GPS chips, software, and network services. The company's semiconductor solutions bring GPS technology to the mobile wireless devices, including handsets, smartphones, PDAs, and other wireless devices. It offers IndoorGPS Driver Software that runs on thehandset or mobile wireless device host processor to provide interfaces to the wireless network, handle assistance data, manage chip communications and control, and provide the location APIs for application development. Global Locate, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in San Jose, California with offices in New Jersey; Tokyo, Japan; and Madrid, Spain. As of July 12, 2007, Global Locate, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Broadcom Corp. | $8M | Series E | Oct 18, 2006 |  |
| Silicon Optix | Silicon Optix is a fabless semiconductor company, supplier of warping integrated circuit (IC) technology – eWARP™. eWARP digital distortion correction allows manufacturers to complement optics with sophisticated electronics imaging in order to achieve superior system designs and add new compelling features to products while reducing cost andcomplexity of optical systems. Silicon Optix has the only mainstream geometry processing IC in volume production to date. Over seven years of research and development invested in IC design, system design and optics have given Silicon Optix the expertise to be the leader in this emerging technology with large market opportunities. | $18M | Series B | Jan 07, 2004 |  |
| NanoMuscle | NanoMuscle is a privately held company that designs and manufactures advanced motion technologies for use in a wide range of consumer devices. With their low cost, small size and silent operation, NanoMuscle products displace conventional electromagnetic motors and solenoids and for the first time provide miniature, affordable motion. | $16M | Series C | Oct 15, 2003 |  |
| AuthenTec | AuthenTec is a provider of mobile and network security. The Company's diverse product and technology offering helps protect individuals and organizations through secure networking, content and data protection, access control and strong fingerprint security on PCs and mobile devices. AuthenTec encryption technology, fingerprint sensors andidentity management software are deployed by the leading mobile device, networking and computing companies, content and service providers, and governments worldwide. AuthenTec's products and technologies provide security on hundreds of millions of devices, and the Company has shipped more than 100 million fingerprint sensors for integration in a wide range of portable electronics including over 15 million mobile phones. Top tier customers include Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Fujitsu, HBO, HP, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Samsung, Sky, and Texas Instruments.AuthenTec, Inc. was a semiconductor, computer security, mobile security, identity management, biometrics, and touch control solutions company based in Melbourne, Florida. Founded in 1998 after being spun off from Harris Semiconductor, AuthenTec provided mobile security software licenses to mobile manufacturing companies and biometrics sensor technology, such as fingerprint sensors and NFC technology to mobile and computer manufacturers. | $2.9M | Series C | Apr 17, 2003 |  |
| Polaris Networks | Polaris Networks develops optical transport switching systems for metro core networks. | $52M | Series B | Mar 18, 2002 |  |
| Global Locate | Global Locate offers semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. It provides GPS chips, software, and network services. The company's semiconductor solutions bring GPS technology to the mobile wireless devices, including handsets, smartphones, PDAs, and other wireless devices. It offers IndoorGPS Driver Software that runs on thehandset or mobile wireless device host processor to provide interfaces to the wireless network, handle assistance data, manage chip communications and control, and provide the location APIs for application development. Global Locate, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in San Jose, California with offices in New Jersey; Tokyo, Japan; and Madrid, Spain. As of July 12, 2007, Global Locate, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Broadcom Corp. | $12M | Series A | Oct 23, 2001 |  |

10 of 14 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [FirsthandVC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/firsthandvc) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Mitsui Global Investment](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mitsui-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Putnam Investments](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/putnam-investments) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Advanced Technology Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/advanced-technology-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Amerindo Investment Advisors](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/amerindo-investment-advisors) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Applied Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/applied-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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- [New Enterprise Associates](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/new-enterprise-associates) — VC Fund
- [Bessemer Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bessemer-venture-partners) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Firsthand Capital invest in?

Firsthand Capital invests primarily in Manufacturing, Semiconductor and Telecommunications startups, most often at Series C and Series B stage. Most of the 14 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Firsthand Capital?

Public channels for Firsthand Capital include the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Firsthand Capital?

The team at Firsthand Capital includes Julio Moncada (Investment Associate) and Mithun Baphana (Product Manager). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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