Private equity financing provided to early-stage, high-potential companies in exchange for equity ownership. Venture capitalists invest in startups and growing businesses that traditional lenders consider too risky, expecting high returns from successful investments to offset losses from failures.
From 'venture' (risky undertaking) from Latin 'ventura' (things about to come) and 'capital' from Latin 'capitalis' (relating to the head/chief). The modern concept emerged in 1940s America, formalized with the first venture capital firm, American Research and Development Corporation, founded in 1946.
Venture capital is like gambling with other people's money, except the VCs are really good at math and the startups they bet on could change the world! Most VC investments fail completely, but the few successes like Google or Facebook generate returns so massive they make up for all the losses.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.