From volume to focus: Why scalable sourcing matters

While Series B companies are more mature and data-rich than earlier-stage startups, Atte is quick to point out that there’s still a massive discovery challenge. “The number of companies raising Series B in a given year is quite high,” he explains. “You can’t manually go through them all—especially when you’ve got a global focus and multiple thematic areas.” That’s where data comes in. NGP has invested heavily in internal capabilities to separate signal from noise and ensure they aren’t arriving late to rounds. “If you go to market two months before a company raises its B, you’re already too late,” says Atte. “You need to know who to track—and you need to start much earlier.”

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At the heart of this approach is Q, NGP’s internal data platform and operating system for sourcing, diligence, and collaboration. Q brings together structured data, semantic search, scoring models, and generative AI—all tailored to the firm’s unique thesis and vertical focus. “Q is what everyone on the team uses, every day,” Atte explains. “Whether we’re looking at a market, a company, or a new investment memo, Q is the lens we use.” The platform includes ML models trained to identify two key signals: success momentum and thematic alignment. “The ability to find the most relevant companies with the highest momentum in a new market saves our team a tremendous amount of time.”

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Part of the raw material that powers Q comes from Harmonic’s Bulk Data product, which gives NGP direct access to one of the most comprehensive datasets available on private companies and professionals—over 25 million company records and 200 million people profiles. The structured data includes signals like founder experience, hiring momentum, product descriptions, and web presence—early indicators that a company might be gaining traction or preparing to raise.

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"It’s not just about filtering the data. It’s about using it to build our own pattern recognition and scoring models. That’s where we start to see the real drivers of success"

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Harmonic as the base layer: clean, reliable, actionable data

For NGP, Harmonic plays a key role in streamlining their dealflow engine. “We use Harmonic across the entire funnel,” Atte says. “From discovering companies, to evaluating them, to understanding momentum—it’s an essential part of our workflow.”

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Because Q is designed to serve the entire investment team, reliability and completeness are non-negotiable. Harmonic delivers both. The data is refreshed weekly, aligned to NGP’s verticals, and structured in a way that makes it easy to plug into custom scoring models and internal workflows. “The quality of data gives us the confidence to build on top of it,” Atte explains, “rather than wasting time questioning its integrity.”

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One of the most valuable components for NGP is Harmonic’s momentum and traction data. These dynamic signals include hiring activity, headcount growth over time, web traffic changes, and product shifts inferred from a company’s online presence. This kind of context is especially powerful for identifying rising companies before they hit traditional milestones like major funding rounds. “The data about the momentum of those companies is very complete,” says Atte. “It’s available, in our use case, for pretty much any company we’re looking at. We can rely on the fact that the data is correct and it’s up to date.”

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While other tools might offer narrower data or black-box scoring, Harmonic provides the transparency NGP needs to stay in control. “We don’t want to replicate what great vendors are already doing,” Atte says. “We want to focus on where we can truly differentiate.” By using Harmonic as raw material and applying their own models, NGP creates a sourcing engine that’s both scalable and tailored to their thesis.

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That system is working: 70% of NGP’s pipeline now originates from data-driven discovery. “We track where every opportunity comes from,” says Atte. “This isn’t just noise—we’re seeing real results from the data-first strategy.”

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The expanding role of GenAI in venture

As Q continues to evolve, Atte sees generative AI not as a replacement for structured data, but as a force multiplier—especially deeper in the funnel. “Structured data has always been essential for sourcing and prioritization,” he says. “But GenAI opens up entirely new possibilities for diligence, market mapping, and memo writing. It’s letting us automate things that used to take hours or days—and freeing the team to focus on judgment and strategy.”

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This next phase of tooling also changes the build-vs-buy calculus. “A lot of what used to give VCs an edge—like internal tooling—is becoming table stakes,” Atte explains. “We don’t want to spend time building what great vendors already offer. We want to focus on the layers where we can really differentiate.”

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That’s part of why NGP uses Harmonic alongside other vendors. The firm’s two-person data team can’t afford to reinvent infrastructure. Instead, they’ve chosen to trust and build on Harmonic—plugging structured data into models, workflows, and now GenAI-powered systems that reflect their own thesis and priorities.

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From infrastructure to insight: What sets NGP apart

NGP Capital has shown that data isn’t just a tool; it’s a strategic discipline. With a two-person data team and a global footprint, the firm has built a sourcing engine that doesn’t just scale—it adapts, learns, and evolves alongside the markets they invest in.

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Harmonic plays a key role in powering that engine—not just by providing clean, structured data, but by helping NGP stay focused on what matters most: building conviction earlier, spotting momentum faster, and staying true to their thesis. “In venture, pattern recognition is everything,” says Atte. “Harmonic supports how we shape our own perspective—not someone else’s. That’s the difference.”