CB Insights

CB Insights
Name	CB Insights
Type	Private
Industry	Market intelligence
Founded	2008
Founders	Anand Sanwal, Jonathan Sherry
Headquarters	New York City
Key people	Anand Sanwal, Jonathan Sherry

CB Insights CB Insights is a private market intelligence firm founded in 2008 that provides data, analytics, and research on venture capital, private equity, startups, and corporate innovation. The firm aggregates datasets on funding rounds, acquisitions, and patent activity to serve clients across Wall Street, Silicon Valley, London, and other financial centers. CB Insights’ products are used by professionals at Goldman Sachs, Sequoia Capital, JPMorgan Chase, SoftBank Group, and multinational corporations such as Microsoft and Amazon (company).

History

CB Insights was founded in 2008 by Anand Sanwal and Jonathan Sherry amid the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis (2007–2008), drawing on experience in investment banking and technology journalism. Early milestones include coverage of seed funding and angel investments that intersected with reporting from outlets like TechCrunch, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg L.P., and Forbes (magazine). Expansion in the 2010s saw partnerships and comparisons with research entities such as Crunchbase, PitchBook, Thomson Reuters, and CBRE Group, alongside integrations with platforms like Salesforce and Microsoft Excel. The company evolved its offerings during periods marked by major events including the COVID-19 pandemic and waves of technology-sector correction affecting firms such as WeWork and Uber Technologies.

Products and Services

CB Insights offers subscription-based analytics, proprietary rankings, and research reports used by clients including McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Accenture, and Deloitte. Core products include deal databases similar to those of PitchBook, market maps referencing players like Stripe (company), and thematic research on sectors including fintech, healthcare, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and electric vehicles. The company publishes annual lists and indices in the style of Fortune (magazine) rankings and Forbes (magazine) lists, producing content that is cited alongside reports from CBRE Group and KPMG. Ancillary services include custom diligence and advisory work for corporate development teams at firms such as Intel and Google.

Data and Methodology

CB Insights compiles datasets from public filings like those submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases from companies such as Palantir Technologies and SpaceX, patent records from offices including the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and job postings from platforms like LinkedIn. The company uses natural language processing and machine learning techniques comparable to research by OpenAI, DeepMind, and academic groups at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University to reconcile conflicting reports. Data validation workflows reference journalistic sourcing standards used by The New York Times and cross-checks similar to methodologies at Reuters. CB Insights’ market maps and scoring systems are compared in methodology debates with analytics from Bloomberg L.P. and S&P Global.

Corporate Structure and Funding

CB Insights is a privately held company headquartered in New York City with operations that have interfaced with investment firms like Ribbit Capital, Accel Partners, and strategic partners resembling Salesforce Ventures. Funding rounds and investor profiles have been discussed in trade outlets alongside transactions involving firms such as Benchmark (venture capital firm) and Andreessen Horowitz. Leadership includes founders who have participated in conferences with figures from Y Combinator, Techstars, and events hosted at venues including South by Southwest. Corporate governance and employment policies reflect norms observed at comparable private data firms including PitchBook Data and FactSet Research Systems.

Clients and Market Impact

Clients span financial institutions like Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and sovereign wealth funds similar to Temasek Holdings, as well as corporate strategy teams at Samsung and Bayer. CB Insights’ analyses have influenced deal flow and strategic decisions in transactions such as mergers and acquisitions involving companies like Netscape-era firms and later-stage entrants exemplified by DoorDash. Market impact is measured against indices and datasets provided by NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange listings, and its thought leadership is frequently cited alongside studies from Harvard Business School and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Criticism and Controversies

Critiques of CB Insights have mirrored debates about data vendors including Crunchbase and PitchBook regarding coverage gaps, attribution of funding rounds, and reliance on automated extraction methods comparable to controversies involving Google’s web indexing. Journalists at outlets such as The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and investigative teams at ProPublica have raised issues about transparency and reproducibility in private-market data. Disputes over accuracy and bias have been litigated in public discourse similar to disputes involving large platforms like Facebook and Twitter, prompting discussions among researchers at Columbia University and University of California, Berkeley on best practices for private-company intelligence.

Category:Market intelligence companies