How to Set Up RSS Feeds to Track VC AI Investments

You'll build a custom RSS monitoring system that captures every major AI venture capital deal within 24 hours of announcement. This takes 45 minutes to set up and costs nothing.

What You'll Need

• RSS reader: Feedly (free tier) or Inoreader ($5/month for advanced filtering)
• Google Account for Google Alerts
• Google Sheets or Excel for data analysis
• Browser extension: RSS Subscription Extension for Chrome/Firefox

Time estimate: 45 minutes setup | Difficulty: Beginner

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Install Your RSS Reader Platform

Download Feedly if you're starting out or Inoreader if you need advanced filtering. Feedly's free tier handles up to 100 sources, while Inoreader's paid plan offers keyword filtering that's crucial for VC deal tracking.

Create your account and verify your email. RSS readers aggregate content from multiple sources into a single dashboard, eliminating the need to check dozens of VC websites manually.

In your reader settings, enable "Mark as read on scroll" and set refresh frequency to "Every hour" to catch breaking funding news quickly.

Step 2: Add Primary Tech Publication Feeds

Navigate to TechCrunch's AI section and locate their RSS feed URL. In most browsers, right-click and select "View Page Source," then search for "rss" to find the feed link. TechCrunch's AI feed is typically formatted as techcrunch.com/category/artificial-intelligence/feed/.

Add these essential feeds to your reader:

• TechCrunch AI category: Covers major funding rounds with deal size details
• VentureBeat funding section: Focuses specifically on investment announcements
• Axios Pro Rata newsletter feed: Daily VC deal roundups

These publications break 80% of major AI funding stories within 6 hours of official announcements.

Step 3: Create Targeted Google Alerts

Visit Google Alerts and create these specific search queries:

• "AI startup funding Series A" - captures early-stage deals
• "artificial intelligence Series B C" - tracks growth rounds
• "machine learning raised $" OR "AI company raised $" - catches various funding formats

Set frequency to "As-it-happens" and sources to "All sources" to maximize coverage. Choose "Only the best results" to reduce noise from duplicate coverage.

Google processes over 8.5 billion searches daily, making its alert system more comprehensive than any single publication's coverage.

Step 4: Convert Google Alerts to RSS Format

Google Alerts emails aren't ideal for systematic tracking. Convert them to RSS feeds using this method: In your Google Alert settings, click the "RSS icon" next to each alert instead of entering an email address.

Copy the RSS feed URL that appears. It will look like: google.com/alerts/feeds/[long-string-of-characters]/[numbers]. Paste this URL into your RSS reader as a new feed source.

This creates a clean, structured data stream that updates automatically without cluttering your email inbox. RSS format also enables better filtering and data export later.

Step 5: Set Up Investment Amount Filters

In Inoreader, navigate to Rules > Create New Rule. Set up keyword filters to catch different funding levels:

• Seed stage: Keywords include "$500K", "$1M", "$2M", "pre-seed", "seed round"
• Series A: "$5M", "$10M", "$15M", "Series A", "led by"
• Growth rounds: "$25M", "$50M", "$100M", "Series B", "Series C"

Create separate folders for each stage. This allows you to quickly identify deal patterns and focus on funding rounds relevant to your research needs.

If using Feedly, manually tag articles with funding amounts. While less automated, this builds pattern recognition for identifying significant deals.

Step 6: Configure Daily Digest Notifications

Enable push notifications for your high-priority feeds (TechCrunch AI, VentureBeat funding). Set email digests to arrive at 8 AM daily with a summary of overnight funding announcements.

Most VC deals are announced during 9 AM - 11 AM EST on weekdays, so your morning digest captures the previous day's activity before the current day's news cycle begins.

Configure notification thresholds: Set alerts for deals above $10M to get immediate notifications for significant funding rounds.

Step 7: Export Feed Data to Spreadsheet

Use IFTTT (If This Then That) or Zapier to automatically export RSS items to Google Sheets. Create a new Google Sheet with columns for: Company Name, Funding Amount, Series, Lead Investor, Date, and Article URL.

Set up the automation to trigger when new items appear in your "Major Funding" RSS folder. This creates a searchable database of AI investments without manual data entry.

Your spreadsheet becomes a comprehensive database that reveals funding trends, active investors, and valuation patterns across the AI sector.

Step 8: Add Specialized VC Publication Feeds

Enhance your system with insider-focused publications:

• PitchBook Daily newsletter RSS: Professional VC deal tracking
• CB Insights research feeds: Market intelligence and trend analysis
• The Information's VC section: Behind-the-scenes deal reporting

These sources often break deal details 24-48 hours before mainstream tech publications, giving you earlier insight into market movements.

Troubleshooting

RSS feeds not updating: Check if the publication changed their feed URL. Many sites relocate RSS feeds during website redesigns. Visit the site directly and search for "RSS" or look for feed icons.

Too many irrelevant results: Refine your Google Alert queries by adding negative keywords like -"job posting" -"conference" -"webinar" to filter out non-funding content.

Missing major deals: Add feeds from investor-specific sources like Andreessen Horowitz's blog feed and Sequoia Capital's announcements. Top-tier VCs often announce deals on their own platforms first.

Expert Tips

• Pro tip: Set up separate feeds for different AI sectors (computer vision, NLP, robotics) to identify which areas attract the most funding
• Monitor SEC filing feeds for larger deals that require regulatory disclosure - these appear before press announcements
• Create a "stealth mode" folder for companies that raise funding but haven't officially launched yet - these often become major players
• Track follow-on funding patterns by creating alerts for "extension round" and "bridge funding" - these signal market conditions

As we discussed in our analysis of AI-powered investment research, automated tracking systems like this RSS setup are becoming essential for staying competitive in venture capital deal flow.

What to Do Next

After running your RSS system for 30 days, analyze your data to identify the most active AI investors and fastest-growing subsectors. This intelligence helps you spot emerging trends and potential investment opportunities before they become mainstream knowledge. Consider expanding into international VC publications to track global AI funding patterns.