How do you find startups that are raising money?
Search SEC EDGAR for new Form D filings. A US company selling securities under Regulation D must file a Form D within 15 days after the first sale (17 CFR 230.503), often before any press release. Filter out funds and real estate, then read the amount sold and the date of first sale.
Why use Form D instead of funding news?
Funding news covers the rounds companies choose to announce. Form D covers the raises companies are required to report, including many that never reach a news site. Sales teams, investors, recruiters and service providers ask the same questions in search: where do I find companies that just raised, how do I get them before competitors, and is there a free list. Form D is the free answer, and it comes straight from the SEC.
It has limits, covered below, so treat it as a strong signal rather than a complete list.
Step 1. Open the newest Form D filings on EDGAR
SEC EDGAR offers a Latest Filings view that lists filings in real time as they are submitted, and daily filings by form type for the past week (SEC). Choose form type D to see new notices. EDGAR full-text search also lets you filter by form type and date, and for Form D you can narrow results by the exemption claimed in item 6, such as Rule 506(b) or 506(c) (SEC webmaster FAQ).
For bulk work, the SEC publishes Form D Data Sets every quarter, with structured data taken as filed from the XML part of each notice (SEC DERA). The SEC notes the data sets do not replace the filings themselves.
Step 2. Filter out funds and real estate
Much of the Form D stream is not startups. One developer guide estimates raw Form D data is roughly half pooled investment funds, hedge funds and private equity or venture vehicles (DEV Community). Use item 4, industry group: drop "Pooled Investment Fund" and the real estate groups, then keep the sectors you follow.
Step 3. Separate new raises from amendments
Item 7 tells you whether the filing is a new notice or an amendment. A new notice usually marks a new offering. An amendment updates an earlier one and must be filed at least once a year while the offering continues (17 CFR 230.503). The same company can appear several times in a year, so group filings by company before you count raises.
Step 4. Read the amounts and the dates
These fields tell you how big and how recent the raise is:
| Field | What it tells you | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Date of first sale (item 7) | When money first came in | The filing can follow up to 15 days later |
| Total offering amount (item 13) | The target or ceiling | "Indefinite" means no fixed target |
| Total amount sold (item 13) | Money raised so far | Amendments repeat the cumulative total |
| Total remaining (item 13) | Whether the round is still open | A large remainder can mean an open round |
| Number of investors (item 14) | Breadth of the round | No investor names are given |
| Related persons (item 3) | Officers, directors, promoters | Not the investors |
Our guide on how to read a Form D covers every item in detail.
Step 5. Prioritise and enrich
Sort by amount sold and by whether this is the company's first Form D. A first filing often marks a first institutional raise. Then check the company's website, hiring pages and patents, and look for the round announcement. For a fuller method, see how to research a private company.
Step 6. Repeat on a schedule
New filings arrive every business day. A daily or weekly pass over your sectors and states is enough to stay ahead of most announcements.
What does Form D miss?
Not every raise files. In a sample of almost 40,000 venture rounds, Lehigh researchers found that more than 50% had no Form D on file, and that early-stage firms and biotech, pharmaceutical and high-tech companies were less likely to file (Hanley and Yu, ECGI). Filing is not a condition of the Regulation D exemptions, which is one reason gaps exist (17 CFR 230.503).
Form D also leaves out valuation, round names, investor names and, usually, price per share. It covers US offerings only. For non-US startups you need national registers, such as UK Companies House share allotment filings, and announcements.
Where does Tamarly Intelligence help?
Tamarly Intelligence is Tamarly's research platform on companies, funds, countries and markets, built from official filings and open data. Its Venture workflow, part of Level 3 ($399 a month), automates most of Steps 1 to 5: it reads every new Form D from operating companies, leaves out funds and real estate, and opens on raises of $15 million or less, with first raises on file first. Each company has its Form D history rebuilt into rounds and its US patents, and every figure links to the filing it came from.
Tamarly shows no investor names on private rounds and does not cover raises that were never filed, and it says so when a company is not covered. The trial gives 7 days of Level 3 with no card.
See every new Form D raise of $15 million or less, free for 7 days
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free list of startups that just raised money?
Yes. SEC EDGAR lists new Form D filings every business day at no cost (SEC), and the SEC publishes quarterly Form D Data Sets for bulk download (SEC DERA). You need to filter out funds yourself.
How soon after a raise does a Form D appear?
Within 15 days after the first sale, and if the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday it moves to the next business day (17 CFR 230.503). That is often before the company announces the round.
Does Form D show who invested in a startup?
No. It shows the number of investors and the issuer's officers, directors and promoters, but not investor names. Investors appear only if the company or the investors announce the round.
About the author. Melvine Manchau is the founder of Tamarly and author of the Tamarly Newsletter. He previously worked at PwC, Salesforce, BlackRock/eFront and Lazard.
About Tamarly Research. Tamarly Research is part of Tamarly Media, which holds no investment positions. Tamarly is a New York research house that studies how AI is changing regulated institutions.