Who are angel investors? What is startup investing?

An “angel investor” is an individual who invests in startups. The “angel” moniker is a hat tip to the early risk that angel investors take on startups and founding teams that are often still validating basic assumptions and proving out their businesses.

“Angel investing” involves investing money in startup companies in exchange for ownership stakes in those companies.

Angel investors in the US collectively invest nearly as much as US-based VCs, about $25-30 billion per year.