 | |
Type of site | Data as a service |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
| Owner |
|
| Created by | Michael Arrington |
| Employees | 153 (2019) |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | May 17, 2007 |
| Current status | Online |
Crunchbase is a company that provides information about businesses. Their content includes investment and funding information, individuals in leadership positions, and corporate news.
Crunchbase was founded in 2007 by Michael Arrington as an outside database to track startups featured in articles on TechCrunch.
In September 2010, AOL acquired Crunchbase.[citation needed]
In November 2013, AOL entered into a dispute with startup Pro Populi over the company's use of the entire Crunchbase dataset in apps that Pro Populi developed despite having distributed the data under the Creative Commons CC-BY attribution license. Pro Populi was represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.[1] AOL eventually conceded that Pro Populi could continue to use the dataset but adopted the CC BY-NC license for future revisions.[2] A snapshot of the 2013 dataset is still available for download under the CC-BY license on the Crunchbase website.[3]
In 2014, Crunchbase added incubators and venture capital partners to the startup database.[4]
In 2015, Crunchbase went private, separating from AOL, Verizon, and TechCrunch. Crunchbase then announced the raise of $8.5 million in funding.[5] In 2016, the company rebranched by removing the camel casing of its name (with the "B" in "Base" now being rendered as a small letter), and launched its first product, the paid database Crunchbase Pro.[6] In April 2017, Crunchbase announced an $18 million Series B from Mayfield Fund.[7] At the same time, Crunchbase launched two new products – Crunchbase Enterprise and Crunchbase for Applications.[8]
In 2018, Crunchbase launched Crunchbase Marketplace, providing subscriptions to data from third parties.[9] The following year, Crunchbase announced a $30 million Series C led by Omers Ventures.[10]
Their software includes tools for investment analytics, trend analysis, web traffic review, and marketing. They also carry news regarding startups.[11] Crunchbase Pro is their in-depth search tool.[11]
