# StartupHub Discovery is your market radar. AI Agent Connect > StartupHub Discovery connects your AI client to a database of 65M+ companies. Instead of relying on old news, your agent tracks raw signals from new domain registrations, government registries, and GitHub organizations. It fingerprints tech stacks and monitors momentum to help you find stealth startups and scaling teams before they become mainstream. ## Overview - **Category:** lead-generation - **Price:** Free - **Endpoint:** https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_Fud7oZwVoT7evNFalyKCUpTBktTaoKV7c3wm0vM2/ai-agent-connect - **Tags:** startup-discovery, lead-generation, market-research, sales-intelligence, venture-capital, deal-flow, company-data, domain-monitoring ## Description Stop waiting for press releases to find your next lead or investment. This MCP gives your AI agent direct access to the raw signals that precede major announcements. While web searches tell you what happened yesterday, StartupHub Discovery looks at what is happening right now by monitoring new .ai and .io domain registrations, company registries in the US, UK, Canada, and Israel, and new GitHub organizations. Your agent can filter through 65 million profiles using over 40 different technology signals, such as specific hosting providers, payment processors, or compliance certifications. You can move from a vague idea to a curated list of 50 startups just by describing your ideal customer profile in plain English. Whether you need to track companies that are rapidly hiring or watch for specific shifts in an AI-readiness score, this MCP turns raw data into actionable intelligence for your workflow. ## Tools ### market_trends This tool provides a weekly snapshot of the AI startup market, including capital deployed, round counts, and top sectors. It works without an API key. ### monitor_company This tool sets up webhooks to notify you the moment a watched company raises funds, hires, changes its tech stack, or gets acquired. ### news_mentions This tool identifies companies gaining traction in news and podcasts. It ranks them by mention count to show who has the most current buzz. ### score_movers This tool tracks companies with the biggest shifts in AI-readiness scores. Use it to find prospects that are rapidly improving their technical capabilities. ### search_domains This tool monitors freshly registered domains before they even become official company profiles. It acts as an early warning system for new players. ### submit_startup This tool allows you to add a new company to the StartupHub.ai directory. It requires third-person prose and specific sector formatting. ### trending_hiring This tool ranks companies by how fast they are adding open roles. It helps you identify scaling companies that are ready for outreach. ### sector_trends This tool provides funding momentum and company counts for specific sectors. Use it to drill into a sector that saw high capital inflow this week. ### ai_generate_list This tool converts a natural language description of an ICP into a curated list of up to 50 matching startups. It requires an API key. ### search_startups This tool searches 65M+ company profiles using filters like country, sector, funding, and tech stack. It provides detailed profiles including HQ and founding dates. ## Prompt Examples **Prompt:** ``` Find new cybersecurity startups in Israel founded in the last three months. ``` **Response:** ``` I found 38 cybersecurity startups in Israel founded since June 2026. The top result is Nexus Threat, a stealth company with 12 employees using Cloudflare and Google Workspace, and they have already secured a SOC 2 certification. ``` **Prompt:** ``` What is the AI startup market doing this week, and which sector is hot? ``` **Response:** ``` The AI market saw $12.4B deployed across 50 rounds this week, which is a 10.6% decrease from last week. Tunneling Infrastructure is the leading sector with $3.0B in capital, followed by SpaceTech at $2.5B. ``` **Prompt:** ``` Show me companies that are rapidly increasing their AI-readiness scores. ``` **Response:** ``` I have identified the top movers in AI-readiness over the last 30 days. Several companies in the automation sector have seen significant score increases after adding new AI-support widgets to their stacks. ``` ## Capabilities ### Early Signal Detection Your agent uses domain and registry data to find companies before they appear in news feeds. ### Tech Stack Fingerprinting The AI identifies specific tools like Stripe, Greenhouse, or SOC 2 compliance to qualify leads. ### Automated Monitoring Your agent can trigger webhooks when a specific company hits a milestone like a new funding round. ### Natural Language Prospecting You can describe a target customer in plain English to generate a list of 50 matching companies. ### Market Momentum Tracking The agent monitors weekly shifts in capital deployment and sector-specific funding trends. ## Use Cases ### Stealth Startup Discovery Use the domain radar to find newly registered .ai domains that signal a new company is forming. ### Targeted Sales Outreach Filter for companies using specific payment processors or ATS tools to find perfect product fits. ### Competitive Intelligence Monitor when competitors change their tech stack or increase their hiring velocity. ### Investment Scouting Track sector-specific capital deployment to identify which industries are receiving the most funding. ## Benefits - Access 65M+ company profiles through a single connection. - Identify companies via tech stack fingerprints rather than just news headlines. - Automate company tracking with webhook notifications for funding and hiring events. - Convert plain text descriptions into structured lead lists. ## How It Works Connecting to this data is a one-time setup that enables your agent to query massive datasets instantly. 1. Connect the StartupHub Discovery MCP to your preferred AI client via Vinkius. 2. Provide a StartupHub API key if you need to use advanced tools like ai_generate_list. 3. Ask your agent to search for specific companies, sectors, or tech signals. 4. Receive structured data, lists, or webhook notifications based on your queries. ## Frequently Asked Questions **Do I need an API key to see market trends?** No. The market_trends and sector_trends tools work without an API key. Other tools like search_startups or ai_generate_list require one. **How is this different from a standard web search?** Web searches rely on published articles. This MCP uses raw data from domain registries, GitHub, and government filings to find companies that haven't been written about yet. **Can I track companies automatically?** Yes. You can use the monitor_company tool to set up webhooks that notify you when a company raises money, hires, or changes its tech stack. **What kind of tech signals can the AI detect?** The MCP can detect over 40 signals, including hosting providers, payment processors, email providers, and compliance certifications like SOC 2. **How many companies are in the database?** The directory contains over 65 million discovered company profiles. **Do I need an API key?** It is optional. `market_trends` and `sector_trends` work with no key at all. Directory search, the domain radar, AI list generation, submissions and monitors require an sk_live_ key — create one at https://www.startuphub.ai/my-account?tab=api. Without a key, paid endpoints return a payment challenge instead of data. **How are credits charged?** Each call spends credits from the plan's daily allowance: 1 for a search or domain-radar page, 2 for news mentions, 5 for an AI-generated list or a monitor. Market trends, sector trends and submissions are free (10 submissions/day on the free tier). Responses include the remaining balance so the agent can budget. **How is this different from StartupHub's own MCP server?** StartupHub's hosted MCP exposes only a handful of free utilities (logo lookup, email validation, trends). This server covers the discovery half of the paid API — directory search with all 40+ filters, the domain radar, AI-generated lists, hiring and news momentum, score movers and monitors — with normalized pagination and credit-aware responses.