Venture capital is a broad subcategory of private equity that refers to equity investments made, typically in less mature companies, for the launch of a seed or start-up company, early stage development, or expansion of a business.

Venture capital is sub-divided by the stage of development of the company ranging from early stage capital used for the launch of start-up companies to late stage and growth capital that is often used to fund expansion of existing business that are generating revenue but may not yet be profitable or generating cash flow to fund future growth.