What are venture capital firms?

Venture capital firms, more commonly referred to as VC firms, are professional money management firms that invest institutional and in some cases ultra high net worth individual capital into startups. VC firms manage one or more venture funds (see What are VC funds?) from which they invest in startups.

VCs typically have an investing thesis. The thesis is sometimes very broad, or very specific. It may be for example center around investing at a particular stage (seed, Series A-C, growth) and/or particular industry and/or particular geography.