Frontrun

Startup deal-flow signals for VCs and agents: see which startups 1,000+ top venture investors follow on X, with funding data on 42,000+ companies.

Documentation

Frontrun MCP Server

VC follow intelligence for AI agents. Track what top investors follow on X — detect new follows, convergence signals, and trending companies before they're announced.

33 tools. Version 2.5.2.

Setup (1 minute)

Option A: OAuth login (recommended)

No API key needed. Log in with your frontrun.vc account:

# Step 1: Log in — opens browser, saves credentials locally
npx frontrun-mcp-server --login

# Step 2: Auto-configure your client
npx frontrun-mcp-server --setup         # Claude Desktop
npx frontrun-mcp-server --setup-code    # Claude Code (uses `claude mcp add`)

Credentials are saved to ~/.frontrun/credentials.json. Other commands:

npx frontrun-mcp-server --status   # Check auth status
npx frontrun-mcp-server --logout   # Clear saved credentials

Option B: Hosted endpoint (no install)

The server is also hosted at https://www.frontrun.vc/mcp (streamable HTTP). Point any remote-capable MCP client at it with your API key:

claude mcp add --transport http frontrun https://www.frontrun.vc/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer sig_your_key_here"

Option C: Manual API key

If you prefer to use an API key directly, go to frontrun.vcSettings > API Keys and generate a key (starts with sig_).

Claude Code
claude mcp add frontrun -e FRONTRUN_API_KEY=sig_your_key_here --scope user -- npx frontrun-mcp-server

Or add to .mcp.json in any project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "frontrun": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["frontrun-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "FRONTRUN_API_KEY": "sig_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}
Claude Desktop

Add to your config file:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "frontrun": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["frontrun-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "FRONTRUN_API_KEY": "sig_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}
Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "frontrun": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["frontrun-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "FRONTRUN_API_KEY": "sig_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}
Any MCP-compatible client
FRONTRUN_API_KEY=sig_your_key_here npx frontrun-mcp-server

Start asking questions

Open your AI tool and try:

"What's trending in my tracked accounts this week?"


What can I ask?

Here are real prompts that work out of the box. Just type them into Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or Cursor.

Daily deal flow

  • "What are the trending companies this week?"
  • "Show me what my tracked VCs followed in the last 48 hours"
  • "Any convergence signals? Who are multiple VCs following independently?"

Deep research

  • "Tell me everything about @hitdotone — who founded it, what they're building, and who's backing them"
  • "Who are the founders of @someproject and what's their background?"
  • "What funding has @tempofinance raised?"

Discovery

  • "Find me early-stage DeFi companies that my tracked VCs are following but I'm not tracking yet"
  • "What sectors are getting the most attention from VCs right now?"
  • "Search for stablecoin startups in the follow graph"

Portfolio monitoring

  • "Track @a16zcrypto and @paradigm"
  • "Show me a16zcrypto's recent follow activity and what sectors they're focused on"
  • "Find VCs with similar follow patterns to @multicoin"

Custom intelligence

  • "Create a rule to flag any stablecoin neobank companies"
  • "Tag @hitdotone as a portfolio candidate"
  • "Show me all entities matching my stablecoin rule from the last 7 days"

How it works

Frontrun monitors the X (Twitter) follow graphs of VCs and investors you choose to track. When a VC follows a new account, Frontrun detects it, classifies the entity (startup, protocol, founder, etc.), and makes it queryable through AI.

The signal: VCs typically follow companies 2-8 weeks before a funding announcement. Convergence — multiple VCs independently following the same account — is the strongest signal.

Receipts: @techdollarhq flagged at 13 followers, $3M pre-seed announced 123 days later · @orthogonal_sh flagged 184 days before its $4.3M round led by Pantera · @rialto_xyz flagged at 18 followers, 26 days before its Robinhood partner announcement.

What you're paying for: Every response is computed intelligence, not raw data. Sectors are classified by AI, convergence is detected algorithmically, and company profiles are synthesized from multiple sources.


Pricing

API + MCP access is included with the Pro plan ($99/mo) — it comes with 10,000 credits every month, and you can add more (or turn on auto-refill) at frontrun.vc/api/billing. Each query costs credits:

What you're doingCredits
Check your balance, list tracked accounts, manage rules/tagsFree
Preview an account, search, view sectors, pull a report4
New follows, enriched follows, feed, company signals16
Trending scan, VC activity24
Thesis search, webhook setup (then 8/delivery)40
Company deep-dive: overview, funding, convergence, resources, discover, similar VCs60
Founder intelligence100

A typical daily check-in (feed + convergence + a few company deep-dives) runs ~300 credits — an included month covers it more than 30x over. Agent-scale usage is what auto-refill is for.


All available tools

The agent has access to these tools automatically. You don't need to call them by name — just ask your question and the agent picks the right tool.

Tracking

ToolWhat it does
frontrun_statusYour balance, tracked count, usage stats
frontrun_list_trackedAll accounts you're monitoring
frontrun_trackStart monitoring an X account
frontrun_untrackStop monitoring an account
frontrun_previewPreview an account before tracking — signal score, sector hints, recommendation

Signals

ToolWhat it does
frontrun_new_followsNew follows detected across your tracked accounts
frontrun_snapshotCurrent follow list for a specific tracked account
frontrun_enriched_followsNew follows + AI classification + custom rules applied
frontrun_convergenceMultiple tracked accounts following the same entity
frontrun_trendingEntities ranked by follow velocity
frontrun_searchSearch discovered entities by sector, keyword, type
frontrun_thesis_searchSemantic search — describe a thesis in plain language, get matching companies
frontrun_feedReal-time activity feed across all tracked accounts
frontrun_sectorsSector breakdown of discovered entities
frontrun_discoverPersonalized recommendations — "accounts your VCs follow that you're not tracking"
frontrun_reportsGenerated intelligence reports for your tracked accounts

Company intelligence

ToolWhat it does
frontrun_companyCompany overview — what they do, sector, stage
frontrun_company_foundersFounder profiles, backgrounds, previous companies
frontrun_company_signalsSocial buzz, sentiment, notable engagements
frontrun_company_resourcesWebsite, GitHub, docs, community links
frontrun_company_fundingFunding rounds, investors, amounts

VC intelligence

ToolWhat it does
frontrun_vc_activityVC follow patterns — velocity, sector focus, recent follows
frontrun_vc_similarFind VCs with overlapping follow patterns

Classification

ToolWhat it does
frontrun_classifyRun AI classification on specific entities
frontrun_create_ruleCreate a custom classification rule
frontrun_list_rulesList your rules
frontrun_update_ruleUpdate a rule
frontrun_delete_ruleDelete a rule
frontrun_tagTag an entity with custom labels
frontrun_list_tagsList your tagged entities

Webhooks

ToolWhat it does
frontrun_list_webhooksList your registered webhooks
frontrun_create_webhookRegister a webhook for new_follows / convergence events
frontrun_delete_webhookDelete a webhook

REST API

Prefer HTTP? Every tool maps to a REST endpoint. Base URL: https://frontrun.vc/v1

# Set your key
export FR_KEY="sig_your_key_here"

# Check your account
curl -sL -H "X-API-Key: $FR_KEY" "https://frontrun.vc/v1/status"

# What's trending?
curl -sL -H "X-API-Key: $FR_KEY" "https://frontrun.vc/v1/trending?since=168h"

# Convergence signals
curl -sL -H "X-API-Key: $FR_KEY" "https://frontrun.vc/v1/convergence?since=168h"

Full REST docs: frontrun.vc/docs/api


Support

License

MIT