Fentner Business Spotlight

FG-26-12 compares seven startup funding data sources on a question an analyst cannot dodge: can you show where the number came from? FundingWatcher places first, because it publishes its counts, its counting rules and its own stated limits on pages that need no account.

  • Four tests — readable without an account, counting rules stated, limits named, findings checkable
  • The footnote test — everything needed to source a figure sits on one open method page
  • What the file will not tell you — no fund sizes, no deal terms, no valuations, no round-by-round history
  • 219,289 team members — matched by website domain, with 31,371 entries holding no website and therefore no team count
  • An unexpected top five — accelerators and public programmes, not funds, in the most active table
  • Coverage without method — the largest headline numbers in the set come with no statement of how they were counted

Read it in full: FG-26-12: Startup Funding Data Sources Compared for Analysts in 2026

The source placed first: how FundingWatcher counts, and what it says it cannot count

Fentner Group — fentner.com

What is Fentner Business Spotlight?

Fentner Business Spotlight is the audio edition of the firm's published research. Fentner Group assesses brands, products, and market structure in digital markets from evidence any reader can obtain, under criteria fixed before the review begins. Each episode covers one report and links to the published text.