How to find investors for your startup
To find investors for a startup, filter by stage first, then sector, then location, and only then check that each firm is still investing. As of November 2026, The Investor Database lists 4,178 startup investors, 3,019 of them in the US, and 1,799 have a dated fund filing, deal or portfolio update in the last 12 months. The tool below runs those filters and returns your top 25, free.
By Muhammad Tayyab Shabbir. Last updated 10 Nov 2026. Figures come from our own records, last checked in November 2026.
Key takeaways
- Start with stage. It is also the field most often missing: a stage is on file for 2,510 of 4,178 records, so check each firm's own wording.
- Sector tags are on 2,865 records across 40 sectors. The largest groups are AI (1,576), SaaS (1,529) and healthtech (1,207).
- 1,048 of the 3,019 US investors are in California and 443 in New York, so search the whole country, with local firms first.
- A dated filing is a free, public sign that a firm has raised money recently: 1,528 US investors on file have an SEC fund filing dated in the last 24 months.
Steps 1 to 3 in one go: the matching tool
Type one sentence. The tool reads the stage, sector and place, and shows your top 25 with a reason for each. Free, no signup.
Step 1: Which stage are you raising at?
Settle the stage first: it decides which funds can look at you at all. The names are loose and firms draw the lines differently, so treat the table as working definitions and check each firm's own wording.
| Stage | Working definition | Investors on file that list it |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | An idea, a prototype or a first product, usually before revenue | 988 |
| Seed | A live product and the first customers or users | 1,892 |
| Series A | Sales that repeat, and a plan to scale them | 864 |
| Series B | A working model that needs capital to expand | 339 |
| Growth | Later rounds for an established company | 705 |
Counts from 4,178 records, November 2026. A firm can list more than one stage. 1,668 records have no stage on file.
Step 2: What do investors call your sector?
Use the label investors use, which is often broader than your product. A scheduling app for dentists is healthtech and SaaS before it is "dental". Pick up to three: a firm that carries two of your sectors is a closer fit than a firm that carries one. The largest sector groups on file are AI (1,576), SaaS (1,529) and healthtech (1,207). Every sector is linked under "Investors by sector" below.
Step 3: Where should you look first?
Start with firms near you, then search the whole country. The table shows how concentrated US investors are: outside the largest states, a local-only search covers a small part of the list. The first two number columns count every type of investor. The last column links the venture capital list for that state, which is the largest single type, with its own row count.
| State | US investors on file | Share of US investors | Venture capital firms only |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,048 | 35% | 1,038 venture capital firms |
| New York | 443 | 15% | 440 venture capital firms |
| Massachusetts | 186 | 6% | 185 venture capital firms |
| Texas | 184 | 6% | 181 venture capital firms |
| Florida | 182 | 6% | 177 venture capital firms |
| Illinois | 88 | 3% | 87 venture capital firms |
| Washington | 70 | 2% | 69 venture capital firms |
| Colorado | 68 | 2% | 67 venture capital firms |
Head office state, on file for 2,937 of the 3,019 US investors, November 2026. Shares are of all 3,019. See venture capital firms by state and new venture funds and capital raised by state.
Step 4: Is each firm still investing?
A firm on a list is not always a firm writing checks. Look for a date. In the US, a fund that raises money under Regulation D files a Form D with the SEC, and the filing is public and dated, so a recent one shows the firm has been raising a fund. Outside the US, look for a dated deal announcement or a portfolio page that names a recent year.
In our records, 1,799 of 4,178 firms have dated activity in the last 12 months: 1,084 with an SEC fund filing, 342 with a new deal as the latest event, and 373 with a new fund outside the SEC system or portfolio news. The weekly list of new VC funds shows the newest US filings.
Step 5: Who do you write to, and how?
Write to a named person, through the door the firm asks you to use. We found named decision-makers for 3,520 of the 4,178 firms (14,148 people in all), a firm email address for 1,290 and a published pitch form or application page for 678, each taken from the firm's own site or a public filing. If you have a route to a warm introduction, use it for the firms at the top of your list and write cold to the rest.
Step 6: How do you run the outreach?
Work in small batches and keep a record, so that what you learn from the first replies improves the next batch. One row per firm is enough.
| Column | What to record |
|---|---|
| Firm and partner | The firm, and the one person you are writing to |
| Why this firm | The stage, sector and recent deal that make it a fit, in one line |
| Route | Warm introduction, pitch form or email |
| Date sent and reply | When you wrote, and what came back |
| Next step | Follow up, send material, or close the row |
When the list runs out, widen one input at a time: a neighboring stage, a second sector, then the whole country. The matching tool does this for you and says which step it took.
Investors by sector
Every sector we tag, largest first. Each link shows how many investors that list holds. A sector without its own list page opens the matching tool with that sector picked and shows the number on file. The full hub is investors by sector.
AI investors (1,576)SaaS investors (1,529)Healthtech investors (1,207)Fintech investors (846)Deep tech investors (763)Climate tech investors (660)Generalist investors (526)Consumer investors (512)Biotech investors (484)Medtech investors (457)B2B investors (438)Energy investors (421)Industrial tech investors (387)Hardware investors (333)Cybersecurity investors (316)Robotics investors (217)Developer tools investors (216)Media investors (200)Defense tech investors (196)Mobility investors (192)Logistics investors (190)Space investors (182)Food and beverage investors (179)CPG investors (165)Proptech investors (159)Future of work investors (158)Edtech investors (153)Crypto and web3 investors (143)Agritech investors (137)Impact investors (131)Data investors (114)Marketplace investors (97)Ecommerce investors (91)Insurtech investors (88)Gaming investors (67)Quantum investors (63)Semiconductor investors (58)Marketing tech investors (47)Legal tech investors (27)Govtech investors (24)
Method and limits
- Source
- Our own records: public filings (SEC Form D and Form ADV, Companies House, the FCA register), official registers and each firm's own website.
- What is counted
- 4,178 organizations that back startups. Firms marked inactive are left out.
- Dated activity
- The later of the latest fund filing date and the latest deal or portfolio update we found, per firm.
- Stage and sector
- Our research, from each firm's site and portfolio. On file for 2,510 and 2,865 records.
- Last checked
- November 2026
- Corrections
- Tell us or email hello@theinvestordatabase.com.
Questions
What is the fastest way to find investors for a startup?
Filter a verified list by stage, sector and location, then check each firm for dated activity. The investor matching tool does the first part in one sentence and returns your top 25 from 4,178 records, free and with no signup.
How do I know if an investor is still investing?
Look for dated evidence. In the US a fund that raises under Regulation D files a Form D with the SEC, and that filing is public. 1,528 US investors on this site have an SEC fund filing dated in the last 24 months, and 1,799 of all 4,178 records have some dated activity in the last 12 months. A firm with neither is not necessarily closed, but it goes lower on the list.
Should I only contact investors in my own state?
No. 1,048 of the 3,019 US investors on file are in California alone, so a founder elsewhere who searches only locally sees a small part of the market. Start with investors near you, then search the whole country.
Do investors list the stage they invest at?
Not always, and we do not hold one for every firm. A stage is on file for 2,510 of our 4,178 records. A firm with no stage on file is not ruled out: check its own site and recent deals before you write to it.
Can I get the investor list as a spreadsheet?
Yes. The free sample holds 100 investors with every column. Each matched shortlist is a one-time $49 file that includes the named contacts we hold for those firms, and the regional files are one-time purchases too. There is no subscription.
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