87 Capital

Reviewed Updated May 1, 2026

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Location Palo Alto, CA
Founded 2020
Fund Size $50M (Fund I, 2020)
Website https://www.87capital.com/
Stage Focus
seed series-a
Sector Focus
consumer ai sports-tech hardware developer-tools govtech machine-learning

Team

Sam Hinkie Founder & Managing Director

About

87 Capital (also styled “Eighty-Seven Capital”) is a Palo Alto–based seed and Series A venture capital firm founded in 2020 by Sam Hinkie, the former president of basketball operations and general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers and former executive vice president of the Houston Rockets 123. The firm closed its $50 million debut fund (Fund I) in 2020 3. Aggregator profiles describe 87 Capital as a “seed and Series A stage VC firm” backing “internet and data-driven businesses” 14.

The firm publishes no portfolio page on its website and does not list a team beyond Hinkie 2. Its name reportedly references Hinkie’s 1987 birth year (this attribution is widely circulated but not confirmed on the firm’s own materials, so it is treated here as commentary rather than fact).

Stated Thesis

(Self-reported: from 87 Capital’s website. See Inferred Thesis for analysis of actual investment behavior.)

The firm’s website states that 87 Capital “backs smart people building wonderful internet businesses” and elevates four operating principles: being evidence-based and data-driven, pursuing ambitious original thinking, recruiting exceptional talent relentlessly, and continuous learning and iteration 2. Its self-description: “87 Capital is a den for data-driven dreamers. For founders that recruit like their hair is on fire. And for learning machines” 2.

Hinkie has separately characterized the firm’s LP base as “a small set of institutions, foundations, and great friends. Fewer, deeper relationships” 5.

Inferred Thesis

Sample size caveat: 87 Capital does not publish a portfolio. CB Insights and Tracxn list only a handful of disclosed fund investments and one exit (Scout, acquired by StockX in November 2021) 14. The qualitative analysis below draws on the small number of publicly verified rounds (Opal Camera 2023, Pursuit 2026, Scout pre-acquisition).

Stage: Seed and Series A — confirmed by both 87 Capital’s aggregator classifications and the verified Opal Camera Series A and Pursuit Series A rounds 1467.

Geography: US-centric, with a Palo Alto base 14.

Sector observations (qualitative):

  • Consumer hardware / prosumer creator tools. Opal Camera (premium webcams) is the firm’s most public Series A check; co-investors included Founders Fund (lead), Kindred Ventures, Slack Fund, plus creators MKBHD and Casey Neistat — fitting a creator/consumer-tech pattern 6.
  • Data-driven B2B software. Pursuit (data platform for government procurement) was 87 Capital’s most recent verified investment, with Bill Gurley and Jack Altman as co-investors 7.
  • Inventory/marketplaces. Scout (inventory management for resale sellers) was acquired by StockX in November 2021 18.

Co-investor patterns (verified across 87 Capital’s disclosed deals): Founders Fund, Kindred Ventures, Slack Fund, Seven Seven Six, Cherubic Ventures, Acrew Capital, Bill Gurley, Jack Altman (Alt Capital), Builders VC 67. The pattern is brand-name early-stage funds plus operator-investors — consistent with the firm’s “fewer, deeper relationships” framing 5.

Founder profile patterns: The firm’s stated selection language (“data-driven dreamers,” founders who “recruit like their hair is on fire,” “learning machines”) emphasizes quantitative discipline, contrarianism, and recruiting capability — themes that map directly onto Hinkie’s NBA front-office practice 2.

Portfolio

Company Stage Year Lead Partner Sector Status
Scout Seed ~2020–2021 Sam Hinkie Marketplaces / inventory mgmt Acquired (StockX, Nov 2021) 18
Opal Camera Series A 2023-10-25 Sam Hinkie Consumer hardware Active 6
Pursuit Series A 2026-04-29 Sam Hinkie GovTech / data platform Active 7

Limitations: This table includes only investments confirmed via primary press releases or CB Insights/Tracxn records. 87 Capital has reportedly made additional investments not disclosed publicly 14; aggregator profiles list only three disclosed fund investments as of access date.

In Their Own Words

From 87 Capital’s website 2:

“87 Capital is a den for data-driven dreamers. For founders that recruit like their hair is on fire. And for learning machines.”

From Sam Hinkie on Twitter/X (December 15, 2020), introducing 87 Capital publicly 5:

“@87capital is supported by a small set of institutions, foundations, and great friends. Fewer, deeper relationships.”

See the Sam Hinkie investor profile for additional sourced quotes from his April 2016 76ers resignation letter — widely treated as the public articulation of the decision-making philosophy now driving 87 Capital.

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials about working with 87 Capital were located in this research pass. The firm’s website does not publish founder testimonials, and press releases announcing its disclosed investments (Opal Camera, Pursuit) do not include founder quotes about 87 Capital’s contribution as an investor 267.

Sources

  1. CB Insights, “Eighty-Seven Capital — Portfolio Investments, Funds, Exits.” Accessed May 2026. https://www.cbinsights.com/investor/eighty-seven-capital↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. 87 Capital, firm website. Accessed May 2026. https://www.87capital.com/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  3. Axios, Dan Primack, “Ex-76ers president Sam Hinkie raises $50 million VC fund,” April 29, 2020. https://www.axios.com/2020/04/29/sam-hinkie-venture-capital↩↩

  4. Tracxn, “87 Capital — Investor Profile, Team & Investment Trends.” Accessed May 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/87capital/__XYhPS4ItPriDsjWJ5wTE6j-fq8xS_z4iaE2fvoh-W4Q↩↩↩↩↩

  5. Sam Hinkie (@samhinkie) on Twitter/X, December 15, 2020. https://x.com/samhinkie/status/1338929614370967553↩↩↩

  6. PR Newswire, “Opal Camera Closes $17M Series A Led by Founders Fund, Kindred Ventures, MKBHD, and Casey Neistat,” October 25, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/opal-camera-closes-17m-series-a-led-by-founders-fund-kindred-ventures-mkbhd-and-casey-neistat-301966530.html↩↩↩↩↩

  7. TechCrunch, “Bill Gurley, Jack Altman back startup Pursuit, which helps companies sell to government,” April 29, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/29/bill-gurley-jack-altman-back-startup-pursuit-which-helps-companies-sell-to-government/↩↩↩↩↩

  8. Retail Dive, “StockX acquires inventory management company, Scout,” November 17, 2021. https://www.retaildive.com/news/stockx-acquires-inventory-management-company-scout/610193/↩↩