what is venture capital vc 
venture capital vc is a form of private equity and a type of financing for startup companies and small businesses with long term growth potential venture capital generally comes from investors investment banks and financial institutions venture capital can also be provided as technical or managerial expertise investopedia michela buttignolunderstanding venture capital vc vc provides financing to startups and small companies that investors believe have great growth potential financing typically comes in the form of private equity pe ownership positions are sold to a few investors through independent limited partnerships lps venture capital tends to focus on emerging companies while pe tends to fund established companies seeking an equity infusion vc is an essential source for raising money especially if start ups lack access to capital markets bank loans or other debt instruments 1harvard business school professor georges doriot is generally considered the father of venture capital he started the american research and development corporation in 1946 and raised a 3 58 million fund to invest in companies that commercialized technologies developed during wwii 23 the corporation s first investment was in a company that had ambitions to use x ray technology for cancer treatment the 200 000 that doriot invested turned into 1 8 million when the company went public in 1955 3vc became synonymous with the growth of technology companies in silicon valley on the west coast by 1992 48 of all investment dollars went into west coast companies northeast coast industries accounted for just 20 4 during 2022 west coast companies accounted for more than 37 of all deals while the mid atlantic region saw just around 24 of all deals 5types of venture capitalthe amount global vc backed companies raised in 2023 6