Crunchbase Reinvents Itself as AI-Powered Predictions Engine, Claiming Up to 95% Accuracy

Crunchbase declares historical data dead; relaunches as AI-powered predictions engine

This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. Crunchbase provides information and data about private businesses, investors, and industry trends to more than 80 million users. But now the firm is declaring historical data "dead" and relaunching as an AI-powered, predictive intelligence platform that claims to be able to show what will happen to a company in the future. Says CEO Jager McConnell in a blog: "If you still rely on static data from the past to make your business decisions, you're at risk of becoming obsolete. AI has upended the status quo, compelling businesses to act quickly and think ahead in ways that standard data analysis cannot support." Crunchbase is betting on AI's ability to gather, analyse and extrapolate data to make predictions about market behaviour. It processes billions of signals annually to map outcomes and offer actionable intelligence. "We've tapped into a technology so powerful that it feels more like magic. Our predictions are transformative when it comes to winning in private markets -- internal backtesting showed our funding predictions to have up to 95% accuracy and 99% recall," claims McConnell. Nevertheless, the company offers a disclaimer: "Crunchbase's AI may contain mistakes and is not legal, financial or investment advice."

Crunchbase's AI can predict startup success with 95% accuracy -- will it change investing?

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Crunchbase will abandon its roots as a historical data provider to become an AI-powered predictions engine that forecasts startup funding rounds, acquisitions and company growth trajectories. The San Francisco-based company announced today it will relaunch its platform with AI models that can predict future business events with up to 95% accuracy, betting that artificial intelligence will fundamentally reshape how investors and companies make decisions about private markets. "The historical data industry as we know it is dead," said Jager McConnell, CEO of Crunchbase, in an interview with VentureBeat. "If you are a company, a data company, and all you're dealing with is historical data...I think you're going to find that you don't use it as much anymore in the future." AI disrupts traditional market data; Crunchbase declares the old model 'dead' The move marks a dramatic shift for Crunchbase, which built its reputation as a crowdsourced database of startup information over 15 years. McConnell argues that traditional data providers face an existential threat from AI systems that can easily absorb and analyze historical information. "AI companies are an existential threat for data companies, not just software companies," McConnell said. "If you deal in historical data, once your data gets into these systems, the facts remain facts. Even data behind paywalls eventually leaks, and once it does, your value disappears because AIs can build better insights by combining it with all the data on the internet." Instead of focusing solely on past events, Crunchbase now leverages its massive dataset -- including usage patterns from 80 million active users -- to predict future business outcomes. The company's AI analyzes thousands of signals to forecast events around fundraising, acquisitions and growth. How Crunchbase's AI uses 80 million users to predict the next big startup According to Megh Gautam, Crunchbase's chief product officer, the company's predictions stem from a unique combination of contributed data, captured data from public sources, and anonymized user engagement patterns. "The real magic behind our ability to predict key milestones in company lifecycles lies in our unparalleled breadth and depth of knowledge," Gautam told VentureBeat. "We've built features that are generalized, not tuned to any single dataset." The company claims its fundraising predictions achieve up to 95% precision and 99% recall in backtesting -- meaning it correctly identifies most companies that go on to raise funding, with few false positives. For 12-month predictions, accuracy remains in the "high 70s percent," according to McConnell. Beyond fundraising, Crunchbase's AI can predict acquisitions, IPOs, company growth and even potential layoffs -- though McConnell said some negative predictions won't be displayed publicly to avoid causing harm to companies. The future of investing: Can AI outperform human decision-making? The strategic shift comes as investors increasingly seek predictive signals rather than historical data alone. "The problem they're trying to tackle is, what do we do next?" Gautam said. "Our users want to be first to market." Looking ahead, McConnell envisions Crunchbase becoming a platform that powers AI-driven investment decisions, potentially including automated investing systems and indexes tracking private market sectors. "I think in five years, everyone's dead," McConnell warned, referring to traditional data companies. "The Salesforces of the world have to figure out what their UI experience is going to be like...this thing is so fluid that in five years, a data company that's not doing the stuff we're talking about won't exist." The transformation positions Crunchbase to compete more directly with both traditional market intelligence providers and emerging AI-powered investment platforms. The company plans to allow customers to incorporate its predictive signals into their own models while it maintains control of its valuable underlying data. Industry analysts note that Crunchbase's shift comes amid growing interest in using AI for investment decisions, though many investors remain skeptical of fully automated approaches. The company's success may depend on whether it can maintain high prediction accuracy as it scales while convincing customers to trust its AI-generated insights. McConnell emphasizes that Crunchbase aims to augment rather than replace human decision-making: "We fundamentally believe in augmentation...investments [are] pretty subjective, and your thesis has to match, and the price has to match." The rebranded platform launches publicly today at Crunchbase.ai, marking what McConnell calls a "precipice of just everything changing" in how investors evaluate private companies. In his view, the future belongs not to those who collect the most data, but to those who can best predict what happens next.

Crunchbase relaunches as an AI-powered platform for predictive market insights - SiliconANGLE

Crunchbase relaunches as an AI-powered platform for predictive market insights Market intelligence company Crunchbase Inc. today announced that it's relaunching as an artificial intelligence-powered prediction engine that it claims will revolutionize how investors, founders and innovators think about market insights on private companies. Crunchbase was founded in 2007 as a company database service as part of the tech site TechCrunch before being spun off as a separate company in 2015. Over the years, Crunchbase has established itself as a leading source of company data, but with today's announcement, the company is repositioning itself away from historical data to live, predictive intelligence that provides a dynamic and forward-looking view of the market. "The historical data industry as we know it is dead," said Chief Executive Jager McConnell, adding that companies still relying on static data are "already obsolete." "Crunchbase is not just adapting -- we're leading this transformation," McConnell said. "Our AI doesn't just capture what happened yesterday; it predicts what's coming tomorrow so customers can stay ahead of the market." The company's new AI-powered solution predicts trends and major milestones across millions of private companies. It does so by integrating vast amounts of data from the internet, government filings, direct input from knowledgeable investors and employees, data partners, an internal team of experts and aggregated usage data from Crunchbase's 80 million active users. The AI analyzes billions of market signals to uncover actionable patterns with accuracy, according to the company, whether identifying emerging startups and unicorns or predicting acquisitions and investments. It says internal testing of fundraising predictions was shown to have 95% precision and 99% recall. Operating at large scale, the AI updates millions of data points quarterly through automated systems, contributors and an engaged user base. The AI converts unstructured data into actionable insights, helping users identify high-potential startups and emerging trends with precision. The new Crunchbase differentiates itself from existing players through its AI models, extensive dataset and active user engagement. Crunchbase says its AI proactively forecasts which startups are likely to secure funding, scale, or become acquisition targets. The approach not only enhances decision-making for venture capitalists and investors but also provides startups with clearer pathways to funding and growth, it added. With the new service, venture capitalists, founders and innovators can now use Crunchbase's predictive AI to navigate uncertainty, identify opportunities and outpace competitors. Crunchbase not only tracks venture capital deals but is also venture capital-backed, having raised about $100 million in funding over five rounds, including $50 million in July 2022. Investors include Alignment Growth, OMERS Ventures Management Inc., Mayfield Fund and Emergence Capital Partners.

Crunchbase Declares Historical Data Dead -- Relaunches as an AI-Powered Predictions Engine with up to 95% accuracy

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crunchbase today announced its relaunch as an AI-powered solution revolutionizing how investors, founders, and innovators think about market insights on private companies. Moving beyond historical data, the new Crunchbase introduces live, predictive intelligence, providing a dynamic and forward-looking view of the market. "The historical data industry as we know it is dead," said Jager McConnell, CEO of Crunchbase. "AI has disrupted the status quo. Companies still relying on static data are already obsolete. Crunchbase is not just adapting -- we're leading this transformation. Our AI doesn't just capture what happened yesterday; it predicts what's coming tomorrow so customers can stay ahead of the market." An Intelligent Platform Built to Make Predictions Accurately at Scale Crunchbase's AI-powered solution predicts trends and major milestones across millions of private companies. This unmatched scale comes from integrating vast amounts of data from the internet, government filings, direct input from knowledgeable investors and employees, thousands of data partners, an internal team of hundreds of experts, and aggregated usage data from Crunchbase's 80 million active users. Crunchbase's AI analyzes those billions of market signals to uncover actionable patterns with incredible accuracy - whether identifying emerging startups and unicorns or predicting acquisitions and investments. Internal backtesting of Crunchbase's fundraising predictions was shown to have 95% precision and 99% recall. These insights empower Crunchbase users to make faster, smarter, and more confident decisions. "The real magic behind our ability to predict key milestones in company lifecycles lies in our unparalleled breadth and depth of knowledge about both historical and present company attributes, as well as extensive metadata that describes the social graph and the usage of investors, entrepreneurs, and companies," said Robert Conrad, CTO of Crunchbase. "On top of this foundation, we are able to build thousands of feature vector types describing every nuance of a company's history, which in turn allows us to train models using state-of-the-art technology that delivers the high-accuracy predictions our customers demand." Why Crunchbase's Evolution Matters This launch marks the most significant leap forward for Crunchbase in its history -- and arguably for the private markets industry at large. While traditional data companies focus on the past, Crunchbase shifts the focus to the future, forecasting what's ahead. The implications for private markets are transformative. Venture capitalists, founders, and innovators can now rely on Crunchbase's predictive AI to navigate uncertainty, identify opportunities, and outpace competitors. With this relaunch, Crunchbase isn't just documenting history -- it's helping write the future by turning data into actionable insights that don't just inform decisions but actively drive them. What Sets Crunchbase Apart Predictive Power: Crunchbase's AI processes billions of signals annually to map outcomes with unprecedented speed and accuracy, delivering foresight that transforms decision-making.Unmatched Scale: Crunchbase updates millions of data points every quarter, fueled by automated systems, an ecosystem of contributors, users, and partners that make it the largest, most dynamic source of live private company data.Dynamic Insights: Crunchbase's AI turns unstructured data into actionable intelligence, allowing users to predict which startups will break out and which trends will dominate. "AI has completely disrupted the business model for data companies. The era of static, historical data is over," says Perplexity Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko. "The future is live, predictive, and dynamic -- and Crunchbase has been a valuable partner in making that a reality. Incorporating Crunchbase's proprietary data ensures Perplexity's answers are informed by the highest quality insights." Explore the Future of Market Intelligence Crunchbase invites users worldwide to experience its AI-powered platform and discover how predictive intelligence is transforming decision-making. Visit crunchbase.ai to learn more and join Crunchbase in shaping the future of market intelligence. About Crunchbase Crunchbase is a predictive intelligence solution that forecasts private market movements using the unique combination of live private company data, AI, and market activity from 80M+ users. It helps investors, dealmakers, and analysts be the first to find and act on opportunities. To learn more visit crunchbase.ai and follow Crunchbase on LinkedIn and X. Disclaimer: Crunchbase's AI may contain mistakes and is not legal, financial or investment advice. Crunchbase does not sell securities. Elana Warshavsky elana.warshavsky@modop.com Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs