MAGNiTT Data Methodology

MAGNiTT Data Methodology

This page documents the full classification methodology used by MAGNiTT to categorise venture capital activity across Emerging Venture Markets. It is the reference document for procurement teams, LP due diligence processes, and any stakeholder seeking to understand how MAGNiTT’s data is structured. MAGNiTT’s methodology is aligned with PitchBook’s published classification framework, adapted for Emerging Venture Markets.

What is included

Equity financing into private, VC-backed companies. VC-backed companies are defined as companies that have received funding at any point from: venture capital firms, corporate venture arms, accelerator programmes, or angel investors. Rounds qualify as venture capital based on the cumulative characteristics of the deal — stage of the company, use of proceeds, deal structure, risk profile, and investor intent — rather than the primary classification of the lead investor.

What is excluded

Debt or other non-equity funding, lending capital, grants and ICOs, as well as buyout transactions, secondary share sales, dividend recapitalisations, and PE Growth rounds into mature companies. M&A and IPOs are treated as exits: excluded from funding data, included in exit data.

Stage classification

Funding rounds are classified into eleven round-level tags:

Pre-Seed — First institutional cheque into a company with no prior institutional backing, typically at concept or MVP stage, within the typical pre-seed range based on MAGNiTT’s proxy calculations.

Seed — Explicitly labelled seed rounds, or rounds where the company has no prior VC backing and falls within the typical seed range.

Pre-Series A — Bridge or interim financing between Seed and Series A. Classified when explicitly labelled.

Series A — Explicitly labelled, or first priced equity round following Seed.

Pre-Series B — Bridge or interim financing between Series A and Series B.

Series B — Explicitly labelled, or second priced equity round following Series A.

Series C — Explicitly labelled Series C.

Series D — Explicitly labelled Series D.

Venture Growth — Series E or later, or rounds classified as venture growth based on company age, prior rounds, and participating investors.

Angel — Equity round led by individual angel investors only, with no institutional VC participation.

Undisclosed — Stage cannot be determined under any classification rule. Fallback only.

Reporting groupings

Funding Stages (default): Early Stage VC (Angel through Series B) | Late Stage VC (Series C, D) | Venture Growth (Series E+)

Ecosystem Maturity Stages: Earliest Stage (Angel through Pre-Series A) | Early Growth (Series A through Series B) | Late Stage (Series C, D) | Venture Growth (Series E+)

Treatment of PE Growth rounds

MAGNiTT excludes PE Growth and late-stage minority growth equity rounds into mature, profitable companies from venture capital reports. A round is classified as PE Growth when: the company is mature (typically 10+ years old) with stable cash flows; the risk profile is operational rather than technological; proceeds include meaningful secondary liquidity; and the deal is led by an investor with a growth equity / PE mandate. Earlier VC rounds raised by the same company remain in the historical VC dataset.

Non-traditional and crossover investors

Venture capital rounds may be led by corporate venture arms, accelerators, angels, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, and PE firms acting in a venture capacity. Round classification is determined by deal characteristics rather than lead investor type.

Verification

Tier 1: Direct confirmation from the funding institution or investor

Tier 2: Validated through credible third-party source (media, press releases)

Tier 3: Confirmed through regulatory filings where applicable

A round is flagged as unverified if it has none of the above references.

Geographic scope

Location is based on the startup’s HQ as verified on the platform. Research excludes diaspora founders and startups with only a subsidiary in coverage countries.

🔗 LINK: /coverage-geography for full country list

Primary industry

Industry classification is based on the startup’s primary industry as chosen and verified by the startup. MAGNiTT tracks 28 primary industries and 200+ sub-industries. When analysing a particular industry, research does not include startups whose secondary focus is that industry.

🔗 LINK: /glossary/industry-taxonomy for full list

Transaction date and data lags

Transaction date is based on closing date where available, otherwise the announced date. Data lags are most pronounced at earliest stages; seed data increases significantly after quarter-end.

Historical changes

MAGNiTT continues to improve historical data through ongoing verification and geographic expansion. All underlying data is available at magnitt.com/startups. For methodology questions, contact data@magnitt.com.

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