Crunchbase Scraper — Company Search & Detailed Profiles

Extract company data from Crunchbase at scale. Search for startups by keyword or get comprehensive company profiles including funding rounds, employee counts, founders, investors, and more. Browser-based scraping with Playwright for reliable, up-to-date results.

Why Use This Scraper?

Crunchbase is the world's leading platform for startup and company intelligence, tracking over 4 million companies, 100,000+ investors, and billions in funding data. Their API starts at $29/month with strict rate limits, and manual copy-pasting doesn't scale.

This actor gives you programmatic access to Crunchbase data through intelligent browser-based scraping. Search for companies by keyword, extract detailed profiles, and export structured data — all through the Apify platform.

Key Features

• Two operation modes: Search for companies by keyword, or get detailed company profiles
• Rich company data: Funding, employees, founders, investors, headquarters, description, and more
• Browser-based reliability: Uses Playwright to render pages exactly like a real browser
• Residential proxy support: Built-in residential proxy configuration for reliable access
• Structured output: Clean JSON with consistent field names across all results
• Multiple export formats: JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, HTML

Use Cases

1. Investor Deal Flow & Sourcing

Search for startups in specific sectors (e.g., "fintech", "climate tech") and filter by funding stage, location, or size. Build prospect lists for outreach without manual Crunchbase browsing.

2. Competitive Intelligence

Track competitors' funding rounds, headcount changes, and investor relationships. Set up scheduled scrapes to detect changes over time.

3. Market Research & Landscape Mapping

Map entire industry verticals by scraping all companies matching a keyword. Analyze funding trends, geographic distribution, and common investors across sectors.

4. Sales Prospecting & Lead Enrichment

Find companies that match your ideal customer profile. Extract company details, employee ranges, and funding status to qualify leads before outreach.

5. Journalism & Due Diligence

Quickly pull verified company data for articles, reports, or investment due diligence. Get funding history, founder backgrounds, and investor networks in structured format.

6. Academic Research

Collect large datasets on startup ecosystems, venture capital patterns, or innovation trends for academic papers and analysis.

7. Recruitment Intelligence

Identify fast-growing companies (recent funding, growing headcount) for recruitment business development or job-seeking research.

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
action	String	Yes	search	Operation mode: search (find companies by keyword) or company (get details for one company)
query	String	No	—	Search keyword (for search) or company permalink (for company). Examples: fintech, stripe, artificial intelligence
url	String	No	—	Full Crunchbase company URL (for company action). Example: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/stripe
maxItems	Integer	No	5	Maximum search results to return (1–100). Only applies to search action
proxyConfiguration	Object	No	Residential	Proxy settings. Residential proxies are required and included by default

Important: Crunchbase requires residential proxies, which are available on paid Apify plans (Starter and above). Free plan proxy credits may not be sufficient for large scrapes.

Sample Output

Search Results

{
  "name": "Stripe",
  "permalink": "stripe",
  "url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/stripe",
  "shortDescription": "Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses.",
  "location": "San Francisco, California, United States",
  "industry": "Financial Services, Payments",
  "foundedDate": "2010-01-01",
  "employeeRange": "1001-5000",
  "fundingTotal": "$8.7B",
  "lastFundingType": "Series I",
  "lastFundingDate": "2023-03-15",
  "status": "Operating",
  "websiteUrl": "https://stripe.com",
  "logoUrl": "https://res.cloudinary.com/crunchbase/..."
}

Company Details

{
  "name": "Stripe",
  "legalName": "Stripe, Inc.",
  "permalink": "stripe",
  "description": "Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses...",
  "shortDescription": "Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses.",
  "location": "San Francisco, California, United States",
  "foundedDate": "2010-01-01",
  "employeeRange": "1001-5000",
  "status": "Operating",
  "websiteUrl": "https://stripe.com",
  "linkedinUrl": "https://linkedin.com/company/stripe",
  "twitterUrl": "https://twitter.com/stripe",
  "contactEmail": "info@stripe.com",
  "phoneNumber": "+1 (888) 926-2289",
  "fundingTotal": "$8.7B",
  "fundingRounds": 20,
  "lastFundingType": "Series I",
  "lastFundingDate": "2023-03-15",
  "ipoStatus": "Private",
  "revenue": "$100M to $500M",
  "industries": ["Financial Services", "Payments", "SaaS"],
  "founders": ["Patrick Collison", "John Collison"],
  "topInvestors": ["Sequoia Capital", "Andreessen Horowitz", "Thrive Capital"],
  "numberOfEmployees": 8000,
  "acquisitions": 12,
  "investments": 5
}

Integration Examples

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")

# Search for fintech companies
run_input = {
    "action": "search",
    "query": "fintech",
    "maxItems": 20,
}

run = client.actor("cryptosignals/crunchbase-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(f"{item['name']} — {item.get('fundingTotal', 'N/A')} funding")

# Get detailed company profile
run_input = {
    "action": "company",
    "query": "stripe",
}

run = client.actor("cryptosignals/crunchbase-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(f"Company: {item['name']}")
    print(f"Funding: {item.get('fundingTotal')}")
    print(f"Employees: {item.get('employeeRange')}")
    print(f"Founders: {', '.join(item.get('founders', []))}")

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });

// Search for AI companies
const input = {
    action: "search",
    query: "artificial intelligence",
    maxItems: 20,
};

const run = await client.actor("cryptosignals/crunchbase-scraper").call(input);

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach(item => {
    console.log(`${item.name} — ${item.fundingTotal || 'N/A'} funding`);
});

// Get company details
const detailInput = {
    action: "company",
    url: "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/stripe",
};

const detailRun = await client.actor("cryptosignals/crunchbase-scraper").call(detailInput);
const { items: details } = await client.dataset(detailRun.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(JSON.stringify(details[0], null, 2));

Using the Apify API Directly

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/cryptosignals~crunchbase-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "action": "search",
    "query": "climate tech",
    "maxItems": 10
  }'

Pricing & Costs

This actor runs on the Apify platform using your account's compute units (CUs).

Scenario	Estimated Cost
Search: 5 results	~$0.02–$0.05
Search: 20 results	~$0.05–$0.15
Company detail: 1 company	~$0.02–$0.05
Company details: 10 companies	~$0.15–$0.40

Important pricing note: This actor uses residential proxies (required for Crunchbase), which consume more platform credits than datacenter proxies. Residential proxies are available on Apify's Starter plan ($49/month) and above.

Tips for Best Results

1. Start with search: Use the search action to find company permalinks, then use company action for full details.
2. Use company permalinks: For the company action, you can pass either the company permalink (e.g., stripe) in the query field or the full URL.
3. Manage proxy costs: Residential proxies are more expensive. Keep maxItems reasonable and use scheduled runs during off-peak hours.
4. Combine with other scrapers: Pair with LinkedIn scrapers or website scrapers to enrich Crunchbase data with additional company information.
5. Handle rate limits: The actor manages retries and delays automatically. If you need large volumes, split into multiple runs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this actor require residential proxies?

Crunchbase has sophisticated bot detection. Residential proxies are required to reliably access company data. These are included on paid Apify plans.

Can I use this on the free Apify plan?

The free plan includes limited residential proxy traffic. You can run small scrapes (5–10 companies), but for regular use, a Starter plan ($49/month) is recommended.

How is this different from the Crunchbase API?

The official API starts at $29/month with usage limits and doesn't include all data points. This scraper extracts publicly visible data from the Crunchbase website, often returning more fields than the basic API tier.

Can I scrape investor profiles?

Currently, this actor focuses on company search and company profiles. Investor profiles are on the roadmap for a future update.

How accurate is the funding data?

All data comes directly from Crunchbase's website, which is considered the industry standard for startup funding data. Accuracy depends on what companies and investors report to Crunchbase.

Can I scrape more than 100 companies at once?

The maxItems limit is 100 per run. For larger datasets, run multiple searches with different keywords or use Apify's scheduling to batch runs.

What happens if Crunchbase blocks my request?

The actor automatically retries with different residential proxy IPs. If persistent blocking occurs, try reducing the number of concurrent requests or running during off-peak hours.

Can I filter search results by funding stage, location, or industry?

Currently, filtering is done by search keyword. Advanced filters (funding stage, location, employee count) are planned for a future update. You can filter results after export using any spreadsheet or data tool.

How often should I run this scraper?

For monitoring specific companies, weekly runs are usually sufficient. For deal flow and prospecting, daily or semi-weekly runs on targeted keywords work well.

What export formats are supported?

Apify supports JSON, CSV, Excel (XLSX), XML, HTML, and RSS. Download from the dataset tab after any run, or use the API to fetch results programmatically.