An
angel investor or
angel (also known as a
business angel,
informal investor,
angel funder,
private investor, or
seed investor) is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business
start-up, usually in exchange for
convertible debt or
ownership equity. A small but increasing number of angel investors invest online through
equity crowdfunding or organize themselves into
angel groups or
angel networks to share research and pool their
investment capital, as well as to provide advice to their portfolio companies.