Venture Capitalist firms typically obtain their investment funds from a group of limited partners and invest those funds in startup ventures. Although venture investments overall in the U.S. have been shifting to later-stage deals, there are still some VCs focusing on earlier stage investments. In Portland, that includes Capybara, Cascadia Partners, Smartforest Ventures, and Northwest Technology Ventures.
For directories of venture firms see the "Venture Investment Information" on the Websites page. Our own Venture Capital Firms directory has links to over 100 venture firms in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California.
For a discussion of the process of raising venture capital, see the "Raising Venture Capital" section of the Startup Roadmap.