Track Startup Funding Rounds

Use Fireround and AI chat to verify weekly funding rounds in a spreadsheet.

Introduction

30 Second Summary

Startup funding news appears across separate articles every day. Comparing the details quickly turns into a hunt through open tabs.

In this project, you will use Fireround with ChatGPT or Claude to track this week's startup funding rounds. You will turn verified results for one sector into a spreadsheet.

What You'll Build

Your finished spreadsheet shows this week's rounds at a glance with a source link on every row.

By the end of this project, you'll have:

A live funding table that shows each company alongside its round details. Every row includes the article that reported the news.
A focused view of the funding rounds from one sector at one stage.
A spreadsheet you own with three spot-checked source links. A chart shows the total raised at each stage.
Secret Mission: An optional challenge to push your skills further.

Are there any prerequisites?

You need an account with ChatGPT or Claude. You also need a free Firecrawl account to connect the plugin.

The project path costs $0.

Before We Start

Live funding data becomes useful when you have somewhere to ask focused questions. You also need somewhere to organise the results.

This setup step confirms that your chat app is signed in. It also confirms that a spreadsheet application is ready for the funding table you create later.

In this step, get ready to:

Open your preferred web browser.
Sign in to ChatGPT or Claude.
Confirm access to Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.

Sign in to your chat app

Your chat app turns a funding question into a structured table later in the project. You only need one of the two supported options.

Press Cmd+Space on macOS or the Windows key on Windows to open your computer's search bar.
Type the name of your preferred web browser into the search bar.
Press Enter to open the browser.

ChatGPT

Open the official ChatGPT site in your browser.
Sign in with your existing ChatGPT account.
Confirm that you can see a new conversation screen with a message box.

Claude

Open the official Claude site in your browser.
Sign in with your existing Claude account.
Confirm that you can see a new conversation screen with a message box.

You are signed in. Your chat app is ready to receive the funding-round request later in the project.

Can't Reach the Conversation Screen?

Confirm that you completed the sign-in flow in the same browser window.
Complete any account verification requested during sign-in.
Refresh the page after the verification finishes.

Ask for help without sharing your password or account details: Help me troubleshoot my chat app access

Confirm access to a spreadsheet

The funding table needs a spreadsheet home that you control. For now, you are only checking access without creating the spreadsheet.

Google Sheets

Open the official Google Sheets site in a new browser tab.
Sign in with the Google account that has access to Sheets if prompted.
Confirm that the start page offers a control for beginning a blank spreadsheet.
Keep the start page open without selecting the blank-spreadsheet control.

Microsoft Excel

Choose this option if Microsoft Excel is already installed on your computer. Use Google Sheets if you do not have access to Excel.

Press Cmd+Space on macOS or the Windows key on Windows to open your computer's search bar.
Type Microsoft Excel into the search bar.
Press Enter to open the application.
Confirm that the start screen offers a control for beginning a blank workbook.
Keep the start screen open without selecting the blank-workbook control.

Verify your starting point

Before you check, do you expect both tools to be ready without any funding data or spreadsheet files created?

Return to the signed-in chat app from earlier.
Confirm that its new conversation screen shows an empty message box.
Return to the spreadsheet start screen from earlier.
Confirm that it offers a control for starting a blank spreadsheet or workbook.

You'll see an empty conversation screen in your chat app. You'll also see a spreadsheet start screen that is ready to create a file.

Your workspace is ready. Next, you'll browse Fireround without an account and choose the sector you want to follow.

Choose Your Funding Sector

A feed of every funding announcement can become noise fast. A sector gives your weekly tracker a clear boundary before you ask a chat assistant for any rows.

Fireround lets you browse current rounds without creating an account. You will use its company descriptions to choose one sector for this week's tracker.

Every funding stage remains eligible for now.

In this step, get ready to:

Browse Fireround's live funding feed without creating an account.
Identify a sector from the company descriptions.
Set this week as the date range with no stage filter.

Browse this week's rounds

The feed organizes each announcement into a row. Its columns show the company behind the round plus the details reported for that raise.

In the browser from earlier, open the Fireround feed.
Confirm the page heading says Funding rounds.
Locate the Company, Round, Amount, Lead, and Date columns.
Scan the descriptions beneath the company names.
Select the expand control beside one company.

Good, you now have a concrete view of a Fireround record. The expanded row shows how the feed connects a company to its reported funding details.

Feed not loading?

Reload the Fireround feed in the same browser tab.
Check whether another website loads in your browser.

If the feed still does not load, ask for help diagnosing the connection.

Choose and record your sector

A sector groups companies by the market they serve. A funding stage describes where a round sits in a company's funding journey.

Compare the company descriptions you just browsed.
Choose one market area that matters to you.
Record your chosen sector as your selected funding sector.

Your tracker now has its focus: your selected funding sector.

Set the research date range to this week.
Keep the funding stage unrestricted.

Before you verify the choice, do you expect at least one company in the current feed to fit your sector?

Scan the current Company descriptions again for a company that fits your selected funding sector.

You should find at least one recent company whose description fits your chosen sector. This confirms that your weekly tracking question is grounded in the live feed.

Your research criteria

Sector is set to your selected funding sector.
Date range is this week.
Stage filter is not yet applied.

Your sector and weekly window are locked in. Next, you will connect the Firecrawl plugin to your chat app so it can retrieve the matching rounds.

Connect the Firecrawl Plugin

You have chosen the sector you want to track in Fireround. Your chat app still needs access to the live feed before it can collect this week's rounds.

The official Firecrawl plugin creates that access inside ChatGPT or Claude. A tools-list check confirms the setup.

In this step, get ready to:

Connect Firecrawl to your selected chat app.
Authorize a free Firecrawl account for the connection.
Verify the connection from a fresh conversation.

Connect Firecrawl to your chat app

The official directory flow handles the connection. It sends you to Firecrawl to authorize your chat app.

How does authorization work?

The browser handoff keeps your password on Firecrawl's page. You never need to paste an API key into your chat.

A free Firecrawl account is enough for this connection. The authorization page lets you create one during setup.

ChatGPT

Open the official Firecrawl for ChatGPT page in a new browser tab.
Click Add to ChatGPT on the Firecrawl page.
Select Install in the plugin listing.
Sign in to Firecrawl when the authorization page opens.
Create a free Firecrawl account if the page asks you to register.
Choose the Firecrawl team for this connection.
Approve access on the Firecrawl authorization page.

Claude

Open the official Firecrawl for Claude page in a new browser tab.
Click Add to Claude on the Firecrawl page.
Select Connect in the connector listing.
Sign in to Firecrawl when the authorization page opens.
Create a free Firecrawl account if the page asks you to register.
Choose the Firecrawl team for this connection.
Approve access on the Firecrawl authorization page.

You have cleared the account handoff. Your selected app now has permission to offer Firecrawl inside a conversation.

Authorization not completing?

Return to the Firecrawl listing for your selected chat app.
Restart the connection if the authorization page closed before approval.
Ask your organization Owner to allow the connector if a managed Claude account blocks it.

Help me complete the Firecrawl authorization flow.

Verify the connection

A fresh conversation loads the app's current set of connected tools. This check uses the tool menu before any research prompt is sent.

Before you check, consider whether Firecrawl will already appear in a fresh conversation.

ChatGPT

Start a new ChatGPT chat.
Open the + menu beside the message box.
Find Firecrawl among the available tools.
Select Firecrawl to enable it for the conversation.
Confirm Firecrawl remains visible as an enabled tool.

Claude

Start a new Claude conversation.
Open the + menu beside the message box.
Select Connectors.
Enable Firecrawl for the conversation.
Confirm Firecrawl remains visible among the enabled connectors.

You should now see Firecrawl attached or enabled in the fresh conversation. That confirms the connection is working.

Your Fireround research criteria still target your selected sector for this week. The stage filter remains unset.

Firecrawl missing from the menu?

Start another new conversation if ChatGPT still shows an older plugin state.
Restart ChatGPT if Firecrawl remains missing.
Check that Firecrawl is enabled under Plugins in ChatGPT.
Reopen the + menu in Claude.
Enable Firecrawl under Connectors in Claude.
Reconnect Firecrawl if the authorization flow did not finish.

Help me make Firecrawl appear in my tools list.

Your live data connection is ready. Next up, you'll ask for this week's funding rounds in your selected sector.

Find This Week's Funding Rounds

Your chosen sector is ready. The connected Firecrawl plugin can now turn that interest into current funding data.

Funding announcements are harder to compare when they sit across separate stories. Fireround can organize this week's rounds into a table you can scan row by row.

In this step, get ready to:

Turn your selected sector into a focused request for this week's rounds.
Generate a table of companies with their funding amounts.
Include the lead investor for each round.

Build a precise funding request

The request needs a clear time boundary. It also needs a clear topic boundary.

Naming the required table fields gives your chat app a structure to follow. This makes the response easier to compare.

Return to the chat app where the Firecrawl plugin is connected.
Record the sector you chose earlier here: your selected sector.
Prepare the funding request by copying the prompt below:

Use Fireround through the Firecrawl plugin to find funding rounds announced this week in [[SECTOR="your selected sector"]]. Return the results as a table with these columns: company, amount, and lead investor.

Why This Prompt Works

The sector keeps the response relevant to your topic.
The phrase this week limits the time range.
The table instruction gives every result the same structure.

Paste the prompt into the chat message field.
Confirm the connected Firecrawl plugin is active for the message.

Before you send it, predict whether the answer will arrive as a row-based table.

Send the prompt.

You'll see a row-based table for this week's funding rounds. The table contains company names, funding amounts, and lead investors.

You have your first live funding view. Those scattered announcements are now organized for quick comparison.

Got a Summary Instead of a Table?

Resubmit the prompt with the table sentence intact.
Confirm the Firecrawl plugin is active for the new message.

Help me turn my funding-round response into the required table.

Verify the table matches your request

A useful table makes each round easy to scan. Consistent columns make the rows easy to compare.

Before you inspect the details, predict whether all three requested fields will have their own columns.

Check the table header for a company field.
Check the table header for an amount field.
Check the table header for a lead investor field.
Confirm the rows match your selected sector.
Confirm the response covers this week.

What Should I See?

You should see funding rounds from this week in your selected sector.

Each funding round occupies one row. A company column identifies the startup.

An amount column shows the size of the round.

A lead investor column identifies the main investor.

That's the research foundation in place. You now have a funding-round table that you can compare at a glance.

Your weekly funding table is ready. Next, you'll refine the results into a sharper research view.

Filter Rounds and Add Source Links

Your connected Firecrawl plugin has already returned this week's funding data from Fireround for your sector. You now have company names, funding amounts, and lead investors in one table.

The broad table still mixes funding stages. It also gives you no direct route back to each reported announcement.

A focused follow-up prompt narrows the table to one stage. It also requires a source article URL on every row.

In this step, get ready to:

Choose one funding stage to track.
Filter this week's sector results to your selected stage.
Add a source article URL to every row.

Choose one funding stage

Funding stages describe where a company is in its financing journey. Focusing on one stage makes the rounds easier to compare.

For example, you can focus on Seed rounds if you want to follow early-stage companies.

Switch back to the chat that contains your funding rounds table.
Choose one stage that matches the companies you want to follow.
Record your chosen stage here: your selected funding stage.

Request source links for every row

A source article URL connects each table row to the announcement that reported the round. This gives you a clear trail for the manual checks in the next step.

Prepare a new message in the chat from earlier by pasting the prompt below:

Using the Fireround results already in this chat, filter this week's rounds in my selected sector to [[FUNDING_STAGE="your selected funding stage"]].

Return a table with these columns: company, stage, amount, lead investor, date, and source article URL.

Include a source article URL on every row. Exclude rounds from every other stage.

What Does This Prompt Do?

The stage filter keeps only rounds that match your selected funding stage.
The six requested columns preserve the details needed for later verification.
The source article URL requirement makes every row traceable to its reported announcement.

Before you send the request, make a quick prediction about whether one response can add both missing details.

Send the message.

You should see a new table filtered to your selected funding stage. The table should contain the six requested columns.

Check the returned table for the company, stage, amount, lead investor, date, and source article URL columns.
Confirm that every row contains a source article URL.

Missing Rows or Source Links?

Ask the chat to format the same results as a table if it returns a written summary.
Ask the chat to add a source article URL or remove unsupported rows if any URL is missing.
Ask the chat to apply only your selected stage if another stage appears.

Get help refining the request with this troubleshooting prompt.

Audit the filtered table

A quick completeness audit catches missing links before you start checking articles. It also confirms that the stage filter held across the entire table.

Before you audit the result, predict whether the strict stage filter or the URL requirement is more likely to have been missed.

Scan the stage column from top to bottom.
Compare every stage value with your selected funding stage.
Count the rows with an empty source article URL cell.
Verify that every row contains all six requested fields.

You should count zero rows without a source article URL. You should also see the same selected stage on every row.

You have turned a broad answer into a stage-specific table where every round has a traceable source. Next up, you will test three rows against their linked articles.

Verify Three Source Articles

Your filtered Fireround table now focuses on one sector. It also covers one funding stage from this week.

The table still needs evidence from the articles behind each row. A summary can misread a funding amount.

A summary can also confuse a lead investor with another participant. You will check three rows against their linked articles.

In this step, get ready to:

Choose three rows with accessible source articles.
Compare each funding amount with its source article.
Compare each lead investor with its source article.

Choose three rows to verify

Selecting usable articles can feel fiddly because each page must support two separate values. A useful source check needs an article that you can read.

Switch back to the chat response from earlier.
Open the source article URL from the first table row in a new browser tab.
Confirm that the first article clearly states the funding amount plus the lead investor.
Open the source article URL from a second table row in a new browser tab.
Confirm that the second article clearly states the funding amount plus the lead investor.
Open the source article URL from a third table row in a new browser tab.
Confirm that the third article clearly states the funding amount plus the lead investor.

Good progress. You now have three evidence pages ready for a line-by-line comparison.

Does a Source Article Fail to Load?

A source may be unavailable in your browser. Replace that row so your final evidence remains easy to inspect.

Return to the funding rounds table.
Choose another row with a source article URL.
Open the replacement source article in a new browser tab.

Get help selecting a usable replacement source.

Check the reported amounts

Funding articles can contain several financial figures. Use the figure described as the current funding round for each comparison.

Compare the first selected row's amount with the funding amount stated in its source article.
Compare the second selected row's amount with the funding amount stated in its source article.
Compare the third selected row's amount with the funding amount stated in its source article.

That is half the evidence confirmed. Each selected table amount now matches its linked article.

Does an Amount Look Different?

Funding stories may mention valuations or previous rounds near the current announcement. Focus on the figure described as the current round.

Read the sentence surrounding the amount in the article.
Confirm that the figure describes the current funding round.
Replace the row if the article does not support the table amount.

Get help interpreting a funding amount.

Check the lead investors

An article may name several investment firms. Use the firm explicitly described as leading or co-leading the round.

Compare the first selected row's lead investor with the firm identified in its source article.
Compare the second selected row's lead investor with the firm identified in its source article.
Compare the third selected row's lead investor with the firm identified in its source article.

Is the Investor Name Unclear?

The same article may list a lead investor plus several participants. Use only the firm that the article identifies as leading or co-leading the round.

Read the paragraph surrounding the investor names.
Identify the firm described as the lead or co-lead.
Replace the row if the article does not identify a lead investor clearly.

Get help distinguishing the lead investor from participants.

Before your final review, consider whether all six values will match.

Confirm that the first row's amount matches its source article.
Confirm that the first row's lead investor matches its source article.
Confirm that the second row's amount matches its source article.
Confirm that the second row's lead investor matches its source article.
Confirm that the third row's amount matches its source article.
Confirm that the third row's lead investor matches its source article.

You should finish with three matching amounts plus three matching lead investors.

Strong work. Three rows now have evidence you checked yourself.

Your three checked rows are ready for export. Next, you will turn the verified table into a spreadsheet with a chart of total raised by stage.

Build Your Funding Tracker

You already have a source-backed Fireround table with three rounds checked against the articles that reported them.

A spreadsheet turns that chat response into a tracker you own. A chart then gives you a quick view of the total funding represented by your selected stage.

In this step, get ready to:

Move the filtered funding-round table into a spreadsheet you own.
Reconfirm the three rows you checked against their source articles.
Build a chart that sums the Amount column by Stage.

Move the table into your spreadsheet

The header row gives every funding round a consistent structure. Keeping the source URL in each row preserves the link between your tracker and its evidence.

Switch back to the chat response containing your filtered funding-round table.
Select the complete table from its header row through its final funding round.
Copy the selected table.
Return to the spreadsheet application from earlier.
Create a blank spreadsheet in your signed-in account.
Select the first cell in the spreadsheet.
Paste the copied table.

You now own a working copy of the funding-round table. Each funding round should occupy one row.

Set the header row to Company, Stage, Amount, Lead Investor, Date, and Source Link in that order.
Convert each Amount entry to a full numeric value while preserving the amount shown in the chat table.
Apply a currency format to the Amount column.
Open one URL from the Source Link column.

Your browser should load the article associated with that funding round.

Return to your funding tracker spreadsheet.

Did the Table Land in One Column?

Undo the paste in your spreadsheet.
Copy the rendered table from the chat response without selecting the surrounding message.
Paste the table into the first spreadsheet cell again.

If the fields still stay together, ask for help separating the table into columns.

Reconfirm the three verified rows

Source links make your tracker auditable. Anyone reading a row can inspect the article behind its amount or lead investor.

Locate the first spreadsheet row that you checked earlier.
Return to the corresponding source article tab from earlier.
Compare the spreadsheet's Amount value with the article.
Compare the spreadsheet's Lead Investor value with the article.
Repeat these comparisons for the other two checked rows.
Return to your funding tracker spreadsheet.

All three spreadsheet rows should match their source articles for the amount raised. The lead investor should also match in each row.

Chart total funding by stage

A pivot table groups rows that share the same Stage. Summing Amount within that group produces the total used by your chart.

Why Use a Pivot Table?

Typing a separate total creates another value to maintain. A pivot table calculates the total directly from your funding-round rows.

The chart can then use Stage as its category. Amount becomes the value being compared.

Choose the tab for your spreadsheet application.

Google Sheets

In Google Sheets, select the complete funding-round table including its headers.
Click Insert in the top menu.
Select Pivot table.

You should see a pivot table sheet with the Pivot table editor beside it.

Click Add beside Rows.
Choose Stage.

The pivot table should now show your selected stage as a row.

Click Add beside Values.
Choose Amount.
Choose SUM under Summarize by.

The pivot table should now show the combined funding amount beside your selected stage.

Before you create the chart, how many stage categories do you expect after filtering the source table to one stage?

Select the pivot table headers with the stage row beneath them.
Exclude the grand total row from the selection.
Click Insert in the top menu.
Select Chart.
Choose a column chart under Chart type in Setup.

Microsoft Excel

In Microsoft Excel, select the complete funding-round table including its headers.
Click Insert in the ribbon.
Select PivotTable.

The Create PivotTable dialog should show the selected table range.

Choose New Worksheet as the destination.
Select OK.

You should see a blank PivotTable with the fields from your tracker.

Drag Stage into the Rows area.

Your selected stage should now appear as a row in the PivotTable.

Drag Amount into the Values area.
Confirm that the value field shows Sum of Amount.

The PivotTable should now show the combined funding amount beside your selected stage.

Before you create the chart, how many stage categories do you expect after filtering the source table to one stage?

Select the PivotTable headers with the stage row beneath them.
Exclude the grand total row from the selection.
Click Insert in the ribbon.
Choose a column chart from the available chart types.

Another Spreadsheet App

Select the complete funding-round table including its headers.
Create a pivot table using your application's data summary tool.

You should see a blank summary with controls for categories and values.

Set Stage as the row or category field.
Set Amount as the value field.
Set the value calculation to a sum.

The summary should now show the combined funding amount beside your selected stage.

Before you create the chart, how many stage categories do you expect after filtering the source table to one stage?

Select the summarized Stage and Amount cells.
Insert a column chart from the selected summary.

Inspect the finished chart.
Confirm that the category axis shows your selected stage.
Compare the chart value with the total shown in the pivot table.

You'll see one category because your research table contains one selected stage. Its column represents the total of every numeric Amount in that group.

Your tracker now turns verified funding rounds into a source-backed total you can scan in seconds.

Seeing Count Instead of Sum?

A count means at least one Amount cell is being treated as text. The pivot table needs numeric values before it can add the rounds together.

Return to the Amount column in your source table.
Replace abbreviated or text amounts with full numeric values.
Check the pivot table summary again.

If the summary still counts rows, get help fixing the Amount column.

Secret mission

Run a Reverse Source Audit

Re-audit one verified funding round by starting from its source article. Then test whether that row's amount can fit inside the chart total for its stage.

Clean Up Your Resources

This project has no ongoing costs. Choose whether to keep the spreadsheet and plugin connection, disconnect the plugin for now, or remove both entirely.

Resources you used:

A Firecrawl plugin connection inside your selected chat app.
A funding-round tracker spreadsheet containing the filtered table, three verified rows, source links, and a chart.

Keep everything running

No action is needed. Choose this if you want to keep researching funding rounds through your chat app.

Leave the Firecrawl plugin connected in your selected chat app.
Keep the funding-round tracker spreadsheet in your spreadsheet application.
Use the existing source links when you want to recheck a round against its article.

Pause - I'll come back to this later

Disconnect the plugin for now. Keep the spreadsheet so your table, verification work, and chart remain available.

Return to the tools list in the chat app you used for this project.
Select the connected Firecrawl plugin.
Use the connection control to disconnect the plugin.
Confirm that Firecrawl no longer appears as a connected tool.

Your spreadsheet remains available in your spreadsheet application. You can reconnect the plugin when you want to refresh the tracker.

Delete - I don't want to use this again

Remove both project resources if you have finished with the tracker. Deleting the spreadsheet is permanent, but the plugin can be reconnected later.

Return to the tools list in the chat app you used for this project.
Select the connected Firecrawl plugin.
Use the connection control to disconnect the plugin.
Confirm that Firecrawl no longer appears as a connected tool.

The plugin is now disconnected from your chat app.

Open the file list in your spreadsheet application.
Move the funding-round tracker spreadsheet to the trash.
Open the trash in your spreadsheet application.
Permanently delete the funding-round tracker spreadsheet.
Confirm that the spreadsheet no longer appears in the trash.

Nice Work!

Outstanding work! You turned this week's startup funding rounds into a spreadsheet you own. Your tracker now gives you a source-backed view of total funding by stage.

What you learned:

Used Fireround through the Firecrawl plugin to pull this week's funding rounds for your chosen sector into a structured table.
Built a stage-filtered view that gives every funding round its source article URL.
Confirmed the amount plus the lead investor for three funding rounds against their source articles. Built a funding-by-stage chart from the verified spreadsheet.
Took on the optional Secret Mission to push your funding research skills further.

Ready to quiz yourself?