VC Deal Flow Signal: Engineering Acceleration as a Venture Capital Signal

The Data Nerd

doi:10.2139/ssrn.6606558

Dataset Overview

The VC Deal Flow Signal Dataset tracks engineering activity across 356 startup GitHub organizations in 15 sectors. Six variables are computed weekly from public commit, contributor, and repository data. The dataset powers the signal board at signals.gitdealflow.com and is the foundation for the SSRN preprint.

356
Startups

15
Sectors

6
Variables

Weekly
Updates

Download the Data

Three formats, no sign-up required. Updated every Monday 09:00 UTC.

📂

CSV Export

Comma-separated values — open in Excel, Google Sheets, or any data tool.

Download CSV

{}

JSON Export

Structured JSON array — ready for pandas, jq, or direct HTTP consumption.

Download JSON

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REST API

Full API access with filtering, search, and programmatic queries.

API Docs →

API Access

Three agent-native surfaces for programmatic access. All free, public, and require no authentication.

MCP

MCP Server

Model Context Protocol — connect Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP host. npx -y @gitdealflow/mcp-signal

GitHub →

A2A

A2A Endpoint

Google Agent-to-Agent protocol. Send JSON-RPC 2.0 requests to the discovery endpoint.

Agent Card →

NLWeb

NLWeb Endpoint

Natural-language web API for Microsoft Copilot and conversational agents. Ask in plain English.

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Data Schema

Each row in the CSV/JSON represents one startup-week observation. The full schema is documented at OpenAPI 3.1 spec.

Field	Type	Description
`name`	string	Startup name
`sector`	string	Industry sector slug (e.g. `fintech`, `healthtech`)
`week`	string	ISO week identifier (e.g. `2026-W30`)
`commit_velocity`	integer	Total commits across all repositories in the week
`contributor_count`	integer	Unique contributors active during the week
`contributor_growth`	float	Week-over-week contributor count change (%)
`repo_count`	integer	Active repositories with commits
`repo_expansion`	float	Week-over-week active repo count change (%)
`engineering_momentum_score`	float	Composite score (0–100) combining all velocity signals
`is_accelerating`	boolean	Flag indicating breakout acceleration (top 5% momentum gain)
`star_rating`	integer	Investor star rating (1–5) based on signal strength
`stage`	string	Funding stage estimate: `seed`, `series-a`, `series-b`, `series-c+`

Weekly Updates

The dataset is refreshed every Monday at 09:00 UTC. Each update covers engineering activity for the prior week (Sunday–Saturday). Historical data reaches back to January 2024, giving you a 2.5+ year trend baseline.

Monday 09:00 UTC — Data refresh & signal recomputation
Sunday 14:00 UTC — Weekly acceleration watch email sent to subscribers
Ongoing — API and CSV/JSON exports always serve the latest completed week

License

The VC Deal Flow Signal Dataset is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

You are free to share and adapt the data for any purpose, provided you give appropriate credit to GitDealFlow and link to the SSRN preprint. Commercial use is permitted with attribution.

Citation

If you use this dataset in academic work, please cite the SSRN preprint:

@techreport{gdf2026, author = {The Data Nerd}, title = {VC Deal Flow Signal: Engineering Acceleration as a Venture Capital Signal}, institution = {SSRN}, year = {2026}, number = {6606558}, doi = {10.2139/ssrn.6606558}, url = {https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6606558}, note = {Dataset available at https://signals.gitdealflow.com} }

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to sign up to download the data?

No. All downloads and API access are free and require no authentication, sign-up, or API key.

How often is the dataset updated?

Every Monday at 09:00 UTC. Each update covers the prior calendar week (Sunday through Saturday).

How many startups are tracked?

356 startup GitHub organizations across 15 sectors. The coverage grows each quarter as we add new startups meeting our minimum activity threshold.

What sectors are covered?

Fintech, healthtech, AI/ML, devtools, infrastructure, cybersecurity, climate/energy, biotech, edtech, gaming, SaaS, e-commerce, robotics, space, and transportation.

Can I use this data for commercial purposes?

Yes, under CC BY 4.0. Commercial use is permitted as long as you provide attribution to GitDealFlow and a link to the SSRN preprint.

Is there an API rate limit?

The free API does not currently enforce rate limits. We reserve the right to introduce reasonable limits if usage grows beyond our infrastructure capacity. The dataset is always available via direct CSV/JSON download.

Startup Engineering Velocity Dataset