🚀 VentureRadar Company API: A Startup Database With Funding Signals, as Structured JSON

Turn startup database profiles into clean JSON rows that say who backed each company, not just what it does.

Actor page: apify.com/johnvc/ventureradar-company-api Input schema: apify.com/johnvc/ventureradar-company-api/input-schema

Send one or many VentureRadar company profile URLs and get back one flat JSON row per company: what the company does, its sector focus and keywords, founding year, location, ownership status, LinkedIn, analyst and popularity scores, dated milestones, and the accelerators, incubators, grants, and awards behind it. That last field set, fundingSignals, is the reason to use this startup database rather than a generic company lookup: it records provenance, so you can filter a list down to the companies a specific accelerator has actually backed. This repo is a working Python quick start plus MCP install steps for five AI clients.

Video Walkthrough

Text walkthrough

The input is one field, companyUrls, an array of full profile URLs from this startup database. A profile URL carries both the company name and its profile id, like https://www.ventureradar.com/organisation/Theneo/b40ae154-6867-456f-a215-d98fdae0048c, and both halves are required; a bare company name cannot be resolved, because the source keys profiles by name and id together. You can pass up to 1000 URLs in one run, and each returns a single row.

What comes back is a company record: companyName, description, website, founded, location, ownership, areasOfFocus and keywords as arrays, linkedin, analystScore with a scores breakdown, milestones with dates, similarCompanies, and a plain-language summary line. The field that earns its keep is fundingSignals: each entry names a backer, gives its category such as INCUBATOR / ACCEL'R, and links the source page. So a concrete use case looks like this: collect the fifty companies on your watchlist, keep only the rows where fundingSignals mentions Y Combinator or Techstars, and you have a deal-sourcing shortlist filtered by backer rather than by keyword. Two things this API does not do, stated up front: it returns no email addresses and no funding amounts.

Related MCP server: NUVC MCP Server

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11 or higher

• An Apify account and API key (get a free key here)

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/johnisanerd/Apify-VentureRadar-API.git
   cd Apify-VentureRadar-API

2. Install dependencies with UV

   # Install UV if you do not have it:
   curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
   
   # Install project dependencies:
   uv sync

3. Configure your API key

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env and add your Apify API key
   # Get your free API key at: https://apify.com?fpr=9n7kx3

4. Run the example

   uv run python ventureradar-api-example.py

   Collect your own companies by repeating --url, or dump raw rows with --json:

   uv run python ventureradar-api-example.py \
     --url "https://www.ventureradar.com/organisation/Theneo/b40ae154-6867-456f-a215-d98fdae0048c"
   
   uv run python ventureradar-api-example.py --json

Alternative: set the API key directly

export APIFY_API_TOKEN="your_api_key_here"
uv run python ventureradar-api-example.py

Why Use This VentureRadar Company API?

Provenance, not just profile text. Most company lookups tell you what a business does. fundingSignals tells you who stood behind it: an accelerator batch, an incubator, a national innovation grant, a competition award, each with a link back to the source listing. That is the axis a deal-sourcing list is actually built on.

A URL in, structured data out. You never run collection infrastructure or maintain selectors. Pass a profile URL, get a predictable flat row you can load into a sheet, a warehouse, or a CRM.

Batch friendly. Up to 1000 profile URLs per run, one row each. Enriching a watchlist is a single call rather than a loop of requests you have to rate limit yourself.

Pay per company returned. Billing is one event per company profile pushed to the dataset. An input that returns no profile is not charged, so a bad URL in your list costs nothing.

Failures stay visible. A URL that cannot be collected comes back as a row with result_type: "error" and a plain-language error_message instead of vanishing or killing the whole run.

MCP-ready. Add it as a tool in Claude Code (free trial), Claude Cowork (free trial), Cursor, or ChatGPT and ask in plain language which of a set of startups went through an accelerator. See the install sections below.

Features

Core Capabilities

• Collect one or many company profiles by URL, up to 1000 per run

• fundingSignals: accelerator, incubator, grant, and award provenance, each with a source link

• milestones: dated events such as accelerator batches and competition placements

• Company basics: name, description, website, founding year, ownership status, location and country

• Sector focus: areasOfFocus and keywords, both arrays, so a company can sit in several sectors

• Scoring: analystScore plus a scores object with popularity, social proof, and website traffic sub-scores

• similarCompanies for widening a target list, and linkedin / twitter where listed

• A one-line summary per row, so an AI agent can read a record without post-processing

Data Quality

• Every row carries result_type, either company or error, so you can split results in one pass

• Fields with no value are omitted from the row rather than returned as empty strings, so a thin profile reads as thin rather than broken

• Coverage is bimodal, and it is worth knowing before a large run: an actively tracked startup came back with 22 of 23 available fields in live testing, while a long-tail company returned little more than a name, URL, and popularity band

• No email addresses. An email field exists in the source schema but was empty on every live record tested, so it is deliberately left out rather than shipped always blank

• No funding amounts. This source records who backed a company, not how much was raised

• fetched_at timestamps every row in UTC

Usage Examples

Basic Example

{
  "companyUrls": [
    "https://www.ventureradar.com/organisation/Theneo/b40ae154-6867-456f-a215-d98fdae0048c"
  ]
}

Advanced Example

Batch several profiles in one run. Replace the second entry with a real profile URL of your own; the name and the id are both required.

{
  "companyUrls": [
    "https://www.ventureradar.com/organisation/Theneo/b40ae154-6867-456f-a215-d98fdae0048c",
    "https://www.ventureradar.com/organisation/<CompanyName>/<profile-id>"
  ]
}

Schedule tip: save this input as a Task in the Apify Console and schedule it weekly, so a watchlist of companies is re-collected on its own and you see new milestones and funding signals without running anything by hand. Start from the Actor page.

Input Parameters

There is no shorthand form and no search parameter. The source offers no discovery endpoint, so you start from profile URLs.

Output Format

One row per company. This is a real row from a live run, trimmed only in the description text.

{
  "result_type": "company",
  "companyId": "b40ae154-6867-456f-a215-d98fdae0048c",
  "companyName": "Theneo",
  "profileUrl": "https://www.ventureradar.com/organisation/Theneo/b40ae154-6867-456f-a215-d98fdae0048c",
  "website": "https://theneo.io/",
  "description": "Theneo specializes in AI-powered API documentation solutions, enabling users to create and maintain comprehensive, engaging, and up-to-date API documentation with ease.",
  "descriptionSource": "Description Source: VentureRadar Research / Company Website",
  "location": "USA",
  "country": "USA",
  "founded": 2021,
  "ownership": "Privately Held",
  "keywords": ["Api", "Developer Tools", "Artifical Intelligence", "Software", "Data", "Cloud Computing", "Dev Tools"],
  "areasOfFocus": ["Api", "Developer Tools", "Artifical Intelligence", "Software", "Data", "Cloud Computing", "Dev Tools"],
  "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/theneoinc/",
  "websitePopularity": "Medium",
  "analystScore": 75,
  "scores": {
    "analystScore": "750",
    "popularityScore": 342,
    "socialProofScore": 710,
    "websiteTrafficScore": "964"
  },
  "fundingSignals": [
    {
      "category": "INCUBATOR / ACCEL'R",
      "source": "Y Combinator",
      "url": "https://www.ventureradar.com/source/Y%20Combinator/047cccdc-8c1b-4c72-a93b-00f61bb6bb4f"
    }
  ],
  "milestones": [
    {
      "text": "Startup Battlefield Participant / TechCrunch Disrupt 2022",
      "date": "18 Oct 2022"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "Theneo (USA, founded 2021). Focus: Api, Developer Tools, Artifical Intelligence, Software. 1 funding signal(s) on record.",
  "fetched_at": "2026-08-06T02:23:20.111222+00:00"
}

similarCompanies and twitter appear on profiles that list them; this record did not, and absent fields are simply omitted.

A URL that cannot be collected returns an error row instead:

{
  "result_type": "error",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.ventureradar.com/organisation/Nonexistent/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
  "error_message": "No company was returned for this URL.",
  "error_type": "CollectionError"
}

People also search for

What is a startup database?

A directory of early-stage and emerging companies with the sector, stage, and backing behind each one. This Actor turns individual profiles from one such directory into structured JSON you can filter, join, and load somewhere else.

Is this a startup database scraper or an API?

People search for it both ways. What you get here is an API: you send profile URLs and receive JSON, with no browser, no proxy handling, and no HTML parsing on your side. The scraping work happens inside the Actor.

How do I find early-stage startups by sector?

Collect a set of profiles and filter on areasOfFocus or keywords. Both are arrays, so a company can belong to several sectors at once, and a filter for "Developer Tools" will catch a company that also lists "Cloud Computing".

Which startups have raised from accelerators?

Filter on fundingSignals. Each entry names the backer and its category, so you can select specifically for incubators and accelerators, or for grants and awards. The example script in this repo prints that count for you at the end of a run.

How do I build a venture deal-sourcing list?

Start from a sector or an accelerator cohort, collect those profiles, then follow similarCompanies to widen the set and collect the next tier. founded and analystScore give you a first-pass screen before anyone reads a profile.

How do I use this startup database from Python?

Clone this repo, set APIFY_API_TOKEN, and run uv run python ventureradar-api-example.py. See Quick Start above. The script prints funding signals, milestones, and scores for each row, and handles error rows.

Can I use it with MCP or Claude?

Yes. Use the install sections below to add the Actor as an MCP tool in Claude Code (free trial), Claude Cowork (free trial), Claude on the web, Cursor, or ChatGPT.

Does it return funding amounts or emails?

No to both. This source records who backed a company rather than round sizes, and its email field was empty on every live record tested. For funding rounds, amounts, and investor detail, use the Crunchbase Company API instead.

Related Actors

• Crunchbase Company API for funding rounds, amounts, and investor detail

• Startup Investors Data Scraper for who invests in whom

• Owler Company Intelligence API for revenue estimates and competitor sets

• PitchBook Company API for private-market financials

The five sections below add this Actor to an AI client as an MCP tool. The MCP server URL is the same everywhere:

https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=actors,docs,johnvc/ventureradar-company-api

The actors and docs tools let the assistant discover and read Apify docs, while preloading just this one Actor keeps the tool list small. Auth is either OAuth in the browser when offered, or your Apify API token (the same APIFY_API_TOKEN the Python example uses). Get a token at https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations and a free Apify account at https://apify.com?fpr=9n7kx3 .

Install in Claude Cowork Desktop

Cowork is the desktop app's automation mode. To give it the VentureRadar Company API as a tool, add the Apify MCP server as a connector.

1. Open the Claude desktop app and go to Settings → Connectors (or Settings → Developer → Edit Config to edit claude_desktop_config.json directly).

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the Apify MCP server, preloaded with only this Actor:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=actors,docs,johnvc/ventureradar-company-api"
      ]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart the app. When Cowork first calls the tool, complete the OAuth prompt in your browser, or add your Apify API token in the connector settings to skip OAuth.

4. In a Cowork chat, confirm the tool is available and ask it to run the VentureRadar Company API.

Download the desktop app and start a free trial: https://claude.ai/referral/uIlpa7nPLg More help: https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/claude-desktop

Install in Claude Code

Claude Code is the command-line tool. Add the Actor's MCP server with one command:

claude mcp add --transport http apify \
  "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=actors,docs,johnvc/ventureradar-company-api"

To use a token instead of browser OAuth:

claude mcp add --transport http apify \
  "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=actors,docs,johnvc/ventureradar-company-api" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"

Then verify with claude mcp list, or run /mcp inside a session. Ask Claude Code to call the VentureRadar Company API.

Try Claude Code free: https://claude.ai/referral/uIlpa7nPLg Claude Code MCP docs: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp

Install in Claude (website)

On claude.ai you add Apify as a connector, then enable just this Actor's tool.

1. Go to Settings → Connectors → Browse connectors and search for Apify MCP server. Install it (enable or update if prompted).

2. When connecting, authenticate with your Apify API token, and enable the tool johnvc/ventureradar-company-api.

3. In any chat, open + → Connectors and turn on Apify.

4. Alternatively, choose Add custom connector and paste the full MCP URL https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=actors,docs,johnvc/ventureradar-company-api, using OAuth when prompted.

5. Ask Claude to run the VentureRadar Company API.

Open Claude on the web: https://claude.ai

Install in Cursor

Cursor reads MCP servers from a project file at .cursor/mcp.json.

1. In your project, create .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=actors,docs,johnvc/ventureradar-company-api"
    }
  }
}

2. If you prefer token auth over browser OAuth, add a header:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=actors,docs,johnvc/ventureradar-company-api",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}

3. Open Cursor → Settings → MCP and confirm the apify server is connected (green dot).

4. In Composer or Chat, ask Cursor to call the VentureRadar Company API.

New to Cursor? Get it here: https://cursor.com/referral?code=XQP4VBLI3NNX

Install in ChatGPT

ChatGPT connects to the Apify MCP server through Developer mode (available on ChatGPT Pro, Plus, Business, Enterprise, and Education plans).

1. Click your profile icon, then go to Settings > Apps. If you do not see a Create app button, open Advanced settings and enable Developer mode.

2. Click Create app and fill out the form:

   • Name: Apify

   • MCP Server URL: https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=actors,docs,johnvc/ventureradar-company-api

   • Authentication: OAuth

3. Click Create and authorize the connection with Apify.

4. To use the app in a conversation, click + in the chat, choose Developer mode, and select Apify.

More help: https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp

🌐 About Alpha OSINT

This example repo is part of Alpha OSINT, toolset of financial and operations data sources and APIs. For support or requests for this actor, please start a ticket directly on our support page.

Made with care

Use the VentureRadar Company API to power your startup database and deal-sourcing workflows with reliable, structured results.

Last Updated: 2026.08.07