Wiktionary
n. An investor who invests in a startup venture; higher returns are expected because of the higher risks.
WordNet
n. a speculator who makes money available for innovative projects (especially in high technology)
Usage examples of "venture capitalist".
Now 20 years old, he had earned his Harvard MBA in a one-year accelerated program and was purportedly a venture capitalist specializing in high-tech companies.
That is, a venture capitalist might invest in ten startup companies, and eight might fail, one might break even, and one would become a success, repaying twenty times the investment.
He'd bought one of the nicest homes on the Black Sea, began contributing to many cultural events, and became a respected financier, internationally known market-maker, and venture capitalist long before industrial investment groups and conglomerates were common in Russia.
That was the date of a now famous meeting, in which Robert Swanson, a venture capitalist, approached Herbert Boyer, a biochemist at the University of California.