Hercules has received Metis grant via the Ecosystem Development Fund, which was used in the form of xMETIS to bootstrap the protocol’s initial liquidity (Alpha, Genesis and also Nitro pools). xMETIS is an escrowed version of METIS. 
Escrowing METIS as xMETIS aligns liquidity providers with the goals of Hercules and Metis: building a native sustainable liquidity infrastructure for the entire Metis ecosystem.

https://ceg.vote/t/cvp-proposal-herculesdex/657
