StartupDB

StartupDB is a free database of startups, investors, people and funding relationships. It suits analysts, founders and developers who need source-linked records or a lightweight query layer. Its biggest advantage is no-key, read-only access; its principal limitation is that its coverage is deliberately incomplete.

Overview

StartupDB connects company, investor and people records with investment relationships and funding rounds. Company entries may include round dates, amounts, investor roles and URLs to the underlying sources. The database draws on public investor portfolio pages, news, company and investor websites, and edits from staff, founders and investors. That provenance makes individual claims easier to check, but a missing round or investor cannot establish that the event or relationship never happened.

There are 2,487 company records, alongside investor and founder profiles. Founders and investors can claim and correct their pages, while StartupDB staff review reported issues. This gives people close to a record a practical correction route, although consequential research should still be checked against the linked material.

Key features

Search and records

Advanced search helps narrow the directory, and individual startup, investor and people records support focused lookups. Funding activity can show dates, amounts, investor roles and source URLs, which is more useful for assembling an auditable research trail than an unsourced headline figure. The trade-off is breadth: the database is not presented as a complete census of companies or financing.

MCP server and REST API

The free MCP server is read-only and requires neither an account nor an API key. Six tools search investors, startups and people or retrieve individual records. Setup instructions cover Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and Codex, while other MCP clients can connect over Streamable HTTP. The REST API offers GET endpoints for investor and startup search, individual records, investor portfolios and company funding activity, returning JSON. Both interfaces allow 120 requests per minute per IP address and impose no daily cap, a sensible ceiling for moderate automation but not an unlimited ingestion channel.

Reuse and corrections

Dataset facts and compilation carry a CC BY 4.0 licence, permitting commercial reuse with attribution. Third-party logos, photographs and site text are excluded, so publishing a derived product still requires care over those assets. Claim-and-correct workflows and staff review improve maintainability without removing the need for verification.

Pricing

Free — free. The plan includes the database, MCP server and REST API, with no account or API key, a 120-request-per-minute limit and no daily cap. It also covers company, funding and founder profiles, advanced search and API export. There are no paid tiers or seat charges presented, making it a straightforward fit for independent research, prototypes and small internal tools. Teams needing guaranteed completeness, higher throughput or contractual data coverage will need to look beyond this offering.

Platforms

StartupDB is available on the web and through its API. MCP connectivity extends it to Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex and compatible clients using Streamable HTTP. It does not provide a separate native mobile application.

Who it's for

Choose StartupDB for startup scouting, investor and portfolio lookups, funding-history research, or applications that need a simple JSON or MCP connection without credential management. It is particularly well suited to developers who value permissive commercial reuse and moderate, uncapped-by-day request access. It is less suitable as the sole source for exhaustive market mapping, complete deal histories or decisions where an absent record would carry meaning.

Pros and cons

Pros

• No-cost, no-key API and MCP access: developers can begin querying without account provisioning.
• Source-linked funding records: dates, amounts, investor roles and URLs support verification.
• Commercially reusable dataset: CC BY 4.0 permits reuse with attribution.
• Correction path: founders and investors can claim pages, with staff review of reported issues.

Cons

• Explicitly incomplete coverage: absent rounds or investors cannot be interpreted as negative evidence.
• Moderate rate ceiling: 120 requests per minute per IP may constrain heavy parallel collection.
• Read-only interfaces: API and MCP users cannot write updates directly.
• Asset exclusions: logos, photos and site text are outside the dataset licence.

Alternatives

See the Startup Databases list for broader options. Pick Tracxn instead when you want a freemium service spanning Android, iOS, web, extension and API access, with paid unrestricted access, taxonomy and custom reports. Community Data is the better choice for an open-source database with a public GraphQL API. Choose Discover Startups if a free, forever directory profile aimed at investor and media visibility is the priority. FlareSight suits readers wanting broad company browsing and filters, while its free tier limits profile views to five per day. Selva is an alternative for public identity and rolled-up totals, with deeper round structure and portfolio data behind a free login. Dealflow.Africa, Europe Startup Database and The Venture Codex are other free, web-based directories to consider.

Verdict

StartupDB is a strong choice for anyone who needs source-linked startup and investment records plus immediate API or MCP access without a subscription or credentials. Look elsewhere when your work depends on comprehensive coverage, write access or a higher-volume data contract; its own coverage warning makes it unsuitable as the only authority for complete funding histories.