Capital is the money and assets available for a business to operate, grow, and generate revenue. Without capital, no business can start or sustain itself.
Capital comes in different forms: financial capital (cash, loans, investments), physical capital (machinery, buildings, equipment), and human capital (skills and knowledge of employees).
In accounting, capital often refers to the owner's investment in the business — also known as equity. When someone says a company "raised $10 million in capital," they mean the company secured $10 million in funding to fuel its operations.