Venture Debt Returns to Focus as Sage Reaches $100M in 2026

Venture debt is quietly having a moment, and a new deal shows why founders should pay attention. Sage, an integrated care platform for senior living and skilled nursing, announced a $35 million specialized debt facility from Stifel Bank, pushing its total 2026 funding to $100 million when combined with a recent $65 million Series C equity round led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

For young founders, the structure of the raise is as instructive as the size. Sage did not fund its next phase entirely by selling ownership. It mixed equity with debt, a choice that is becoming more common as founders look to grow without giving away more of their companies than they have to.

Inside Sage’s $100 million year

Sage builds hardware and software for senior care facilities, and it will use the new debt facility to scale its Hardware-as-a-Service model, or HaaS. Under that approach, customers pay over time for devices and the services attached to them rather than buying equipment outright.

That business model is exactly why debt fits. Hardware-as-a-Service generates predictable, recurring payments, and lenders like Stifel can underwrite against those cash flows. The $35 million facility lets Sage buy and deploy more devices without diluting shareholders to finance inventory.

Combined with its $65 million equity round, Sage now has $100 million to work with in 2026. The blend gives it aggressive capital for growth while keeping ownership more concentrated, a balance many founders struggle to strike. It is the kind of disciplined capital planning that supports the broader lesson in why ambition, not comfort, builds great companies.

Why venture debt is having a moment

After a stretch of tighter markets, founders have grown wary of raising equity at flat or lower valuations, which forces them to sell more of the company for the same money. Debt offers an alternative. It provides capital now without resetting your valuation or handing investors additional control.

Venture debt is not free money, though. It carries interest, covenants, and repayment schedules, and it works best when a company has predictable revenue or a recent equity raise to lean on. Used carelessly, it can pressure a young business at exactly the wrong moment.

The tool is spreading beyond splashy tech names into operationally heavy businesses like Sage, where equipment and working capital drive growth. Founders can learn the mechanics from established resources, including the U.S. Small Business Administration’s overview of business loan programs and financing options, before approaching a lender.

How founders should think about debt vs equity

The core question is what you are financing. Equity suits uncertain, high-risk bets like early product development, where you cannot promise repayment. Debt suits predictable needs like inventory, equipment, or expansion into a proven market, where cash flows can cover the payments.

It also depends on your stage. A pre-revenue startup usually cannot service debt, while a company with recurring revenue can use it to stretch existing cash and delay the next equity round. Getting your financial operations tight is a prerequisite, a point we made in our piece on the payment problem founders ignore until it gets expensive.

Discipline is everything. Borrow against reliable revenue, not hope, and model what happens if growth slows before the loan is repaid. Founders who scale operations carefully, as covered in our guide to scaling a startup and hiring, tend to handle leverage far better than those who chase growth at any cost.

What to watch next

Watch whether more startups in hardware, healthcare, and other capital-intensive fields follow Sage’s blended playbook. As recurring-revenue models spread, lenders have more predictable cash flows to underwrite, which should widen access to venture debt.

Also watch interest rates and lender appetite. Debt is attractive when it is affordable, and shifts in borrowing costs will change how aggressively founders use it. A facility that makes sense today could look expensive if conditions tighten.

The takeaway is that fundraising is no longer a simple choice between bootstrapping and selling equity. The founders who understand the full menu of capital, and match each source to the right need, will keep more of their companies while still growing fast. Sage’s $100 million year is a case study in doing exactly that.