# How 12inf matches you to investors

12inf turns your website into a company brief, checks pre-seed and seed investors on five fit tests, and returns a ranked shortlist with sources and dates.

Source: https://12inf.ai/resources/methodology
Updated: 2026-10-12

**Short answer:** 12inf reads your website, and your deck if you add one, and writes a company brief. It searches for pre-seed and seed funds and angels, checks each one against your stage, sector, geography and round, and returns a ranked shortlist. Every investor on it comes with the reasons they fit and the sources behind them.

## From your website to a ranked shortlist

You give 12inf a website (required), your funding stage (pre-seed, seed or both) and the markets you want investors from. A pitch deck is optional and adds detail the site may lack, such as traction or round plans.

### 1. Brief

12inf reads your materials and writes a plain-language brief: what you do, who it is for, your industry, and which kind of investor should care. Matching starts from that reading of your company. A filtered database asks you to know your investor profile before you begin. The brief works it out, and you can read it before you rely on it.

### 2. Search

12inf looks for candidate funds and angels across our investor catalog and public sources: fund websites and published theses, portfolio pages and public investor profiles. The search follows your brief, not a fixed set of dropdowns, so a fund that backs your kind of customer can surface even if its label differs from your category.

### 3. Fit

Each candidate is tested against your brief on five separate checks, listed below. A strong thematic overlap cannot override a hard mismatch on stage or geography. A chat assistant writes a plausible list from memory. 12inf checks each investor against evidence.

### 4. Shortlist

Investors are ranked by how well the evidence fits your brief. Each profile shows the match reasons, the investor's focus and relevant portfolio, and sources you can open. On paid plans, contact details appear where available.

## What makes a match strong

A strong match passes all five checks together.

- **Stage.** The investor backs companies at your stage, not just one that uses the same round label.
- **Sector and thesis.** Their published thesis or portfolio connects to your customer, workflow and business model. "Invests in AI" is weak. A thesis naming your category is strong.
- **Geography.** They invest where you are incorporated or operate.
- **Cheque and round.** Their typical first cheque fits your round.
- **Investor type.** Angels, fund partners and corporate investors decide differently, so each profile says which one you are looking at.

## Evidence you can check

12inf shows sources with dates where available, so you can open the investor's own page and confirm a claim before you write to them.

The same standard applies across our public research: 110+ funds are verified against their own pages, each with a "Sources checked" date. Browse them in [investor lists](https://12inf.ai/resources/investors). When a cheque size or mandate cannot be established from a source, 12inf leaves it unknown instead of filling the gap with a guess.

## What you get

- A ranked shortlist of pre-seed and seed funds and angels, with match reasons tied to your brief.
- Sources with dates, and the investor's focus and relevant portfolio, where available.
- Contact details on paid plans, where available.
- Saved investors in your workspace, and CSV export on plans that include it.

You can see your brief and a preliminary shortlist before signing in. [See pricing](https://12inf.ai/pricing) for full access.

[Run your first search](https://12inf.ai/try) and see who fits your round.

## FAQ

**Do I need a pitch deck?**
No. A website is enough to start. A deck adds detail such as traction or round plans, which sharpens the brief.

**What does the ranking tell me?**
It orders investors by how well the evidence fits your brief, strongest fit first. Fit is a research signal and does not guarantee a reply or investment.

**Do I get contact details?**
Without signing in, the first three profiles show names, focus and public links. Paid plans add contact details where available.