The inventive process is the most important driver of economic growth. Venture capital (VC) funds have contributed a small, but critical, part to the inventive process. VC funds boost the inventive process by selecting a small number of radical ideas out a large flow of ideas and invest in their...

We provide the first measurement of knowledge spillovers from venture capital-financed companies onto the patenting activities of other companies. On average, these spillovers are nine times larger than those generated by the R&D investment of established companies. Spillover effects are larger...