Due Diligence
GitHub in Due Diligence: 5 Engineering Metrics Every Investor Should Check
Published 2026-07-30 · By The Data Nerd · 9 min read
Before writing a check, most investors review financials and team backgrounds. Few check the dataset that reveals how the team actually builds: public GitHub activity. Here are 5 engineering metrics from the GitDealFlow methodology for your due diligence checklist.
1. Commit Velocity Trend
Are they shipping more code? A declining commit velocity before a fundraise is a red flag. fleetbase shows ++1600%.
2. Contributor Diversity
How many different engineers are committing? A team of 3 matching a team of 10 may indicate bus-factor risk. fleetbase: 7 contributors.
3. Repository Architecture
Number and structure of repos reveals engineering maturity. Startups with 3+ well-structured repos show infrastructure awareness.
4. Issue Resolution Velocity
Fast issue resolution correlates with customer responsiveness. High-velocity startups close 80%+ of issues within a sprint.
5. CI/CD and Automation Maturity
CI/CD configurations and test coverage indicate engineering maturity. Automated testing means reliable scaling post-fundraise.
Live Startup Data
| Startup | Stage | Commits/14d | Contributors | Signal type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| fleetbase | Pre-seed | 17 | 7 | Engineering hiring burst |
| PhotoFlare | Series A/B | 17 | 21 | Deploy frequency spike |
| aphp | Pre-seed | 1 | 3 | Infrastructure buildout |
| StanfordSpezi | Pre-seed | 5 | 5 | Deploy frequency spike |
| ere-health | Series A/B | 1 | 30 | Deploy frequency spike |
| epic-open-source | Seed | 2 | 18 | Engineering hiring burst |
| insightsengineering | Seed | 2 | 9 | Deploy frequency spike |
| tuva-health | Series A/B | 3 | 48 | Infrastructure buildout |
| ucfopen | Pre-seed | 1 | 4 | Deploy frequency spike |
| ccao-data | Pre-seed | 1 | 6 | Deploy frequency spike |
| The-Mu-Foundation | Series A/B | 2 | 22 | Deploy frequency spike |
| swellstores | Series A/B | 2 | 29 | Engineering hiring burst |
| vuestorefront | Seed | 2 | 8 | Deploy frequency spike |
| bic-org | Pre-seed | 3 | 3 | Engineering hiring burst |
| vanilophp | Series A/B | 1 | 22 | Deploy frequency spike |
| OCSInventory-NG | Growth | 1 | 71 | Deploy frequency spike |
| relizaio | Pre-seed | 6 | 4 | Engineering hiring burst |
| Velocidex | Growth | 7 | 100 | Deploy frequency spike |
| hightower-systems | Pre-seed | 1 | 3 | Deploy frequency spike |
| eftechcombr | Pre-seed | 1 | 4 | Deploy frequency spike |
For the complete due diligence workflow, combine with the 10-point VC Sourcing Checklist.
Further reading: Alternative Data for Investors · Engineering Velocity Guide