Capstan Medical
Capstan Medical develops robotic-assisted surgical systems for heart valve repair and replacement, having raised $141M in funding including a Series C in late 2024. The Santa Cruz-based startup employs 101 people.
The growth story
Capstan Medical grew from 5 to 101 employees between 2021 and 2026, raising $141M along the way, most recently a Series C in December 2024.
About
Capstan Medical builds robotic surgical platforms that combine catheter-based techniques with next-generation implants for structural heart disease treatment. Their systems aim to improve precision in valve procedures compared to traditional methods.
The company has attracted $141M in venture funding, with backing from medical device specialists like Intuitive Ventures and Johnson & Johnson spinouts. While headcount growth data isn't available, their engineering team (36 employees) suggests a focus on technical development over commercial operations.
Founders and leadership
Engineering dominates Capstan's workforce at 36 employees, reflecting the technical complexity of their surgical robotics platform. Leadership appears to draw heavily from medical device veterans, particularly alumni of Intuitive Surgical and Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries.
The Capstan Medical org chart
Maggie Nixon (CEO - Capstan Medical) leads 24 mapped leaders with 5 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Engineering 47 (+52% YoY), Quality Assurance 11 (+57% YoY), Operations 10 (+11% YoY), Business Development 7 (+40% YoY), Research 5 (+67% YoY), Healthcare Services 3 (+200% YoY).
Talent flow
Capstan recruits heavily from established medtech firms, with 9 hires from Intuitive and 15 combined from various Johnson & Johnson units. Alumni have founded at least one spinout (Oath Surgical) and occasionally move to other surgical startups or large tech firms like Google.
Most common previous employers of Capstan Medical staff: Intuitive (9), Boston Scientific (8), Auris Health (8), Johnson & Johnson (7), Johnson & Johnson MedTech (6), Cephea Valve Technologies (5). Former Capstan Medical employees most often moved to Oath Surgical (1), delight.ai (1), Children in Harmony (1), Petal Surgical (1), Johnson & Johnson MedTech (1), Google (1).
Alumni worth knowing
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 0% direct, 0% search, 0% social, 0% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Capstan Medical: SOLIDWORKS (47), Microsoft Office (32), MATLAB (31), Leadership (27), Medical Devices (27), Python (Programming Language) (26), Engineering (26), Microsoft Excel (23).
Where the team actually sits
Capstan Medical people are concentrated in California, United States (38), San Francisco Bay Area (22), United States (9), Greater Phoenix Area (1).
Search footprint
Capstan Medical attracts about 52 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $0K a month if bought through ads. It gained 13 ranking keywords and lost 10 in the last period.
Frequently asked
Capstan Medical has 101 employees as of September 2026.
Capstan Medical has raised $141M in total, most recently a Series C round in December 2024.
Capstan Medical was founded in 2020 by Dan Wallace.
Maggie Nixon (CEO - Capstan Medical) sits at the top of Capstan Medical's reporting structure, with 5 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Capstan Medical staff are Intuitive (9 people), Boston Scientific (8 people), Auris Health (8 people).
Former Capstan Medical employees most often move to Oath Surgical (1), delight.ai (1), Children in Harmony (1).
Capstan Medical attracts about 52 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $0K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Capstan Medical staff are SOLIDWORKS, Microsoft Office, MATLAB, Leadership, Medical Devices.
Capstan Medical staff are concentrated in California, United States (38), San Francisco Bay Area (22), United States (9).
Capstan Medical has about 47 people in Engineering, up 52% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Capstan Medical has about 11 people in Quality Assurance, up 57% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 78 current and 14 former Capstan Medical profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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