Finding Interest Signals by Industry
The Industry filter in Investor Interest Signals helps identify companies and individuals attracting investor interest based on the industries they operate in.
Interest Signals uses Specter’s dual-lens industry classification.
Industry classifies companies by their economic activity, the market they serve, and the products or services they deliver
(e.g. Construction, Utilities, Wholesale)
Tech Vertical classifies companies by the technology domain they operate in or are building around
(e.g. AI & Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Fintech), More details here.
Where to Find It
Click Add Filter in Investor Interest Signals
Go to General
Select Industry or Tech Vertical
You can also combine this with Customer Focus (e.g. B2B, B2C, primarily B2B/B2C) to further refine results.
How the Industry Filter Works
Once an Industry and/or Tech Vertical is selected and filters are applied, you will see companies or pre-launch founders operating in selected industry/vertical that are currently attracting interests.
You can combine Industry with other filters as needed to get desired results.
Pre-Launch Signals & Estimated Industries
For Pre-launch Interest signals (e.g. founders in stealth or pre-public announcement), industry may not be explicitly disclosed.
To address this, Interest Signals uses Estimated Industries—a predictive layer that infers a founder’s likely industry and tech vertical.
This is based on:
Past roles and companies
Current activity
Bio and stated focus
Any signals related to their new venture
If a founder explicitly states what they’re building, that is used directly. Otherwise, the system predicts the most likely industry based on their career footprint.
Where you’ll see this:
Go to Signal Type → Person
Apply an Industry and/or Tech Vertical (e.g. Robotics & Industrial Tech)
Example: This search surfaces founders attracting investor interest in Manufacturing, focused on the AI & Machine Learning vertical.
Showing pre-launch founders receiving investor interest, along with their area of focus derived from the Estimated Industries layer.
Legacy Industry Filter
You can also use legacy industry classifications:
Click Add Filter
Go to Company
Scroll to Industry (Legacy)
Select preferred Industry from the list.
This surfaces companies based on the previous industry classification system.
General Rules (Recommended by our team)
Use Industry & Tech Vertical Filters across both Company and Person signals
Industry filtering applies consistently across companies and founders attracting investor interest.Use Industry when you are looking for companies based on their economic activity, regardless of the technology they build.
Use Tech Vertical when you care only about the technology being built, not the sector they operate in.
Combine both to narrow down to a specific theme where both the economic activity and technology align with your criteria (e.g. Manufacturing + AI & Machine Learning).
Interpret Industry in the context of the signal
Industry reflects the company or role associated with the signal, not historical background.For Person signals, Industry is derived from founder context
In stealth or pre-launch stages, industry is determined using a founder’s career footprint, activity, and stated focus to reflect the space they are building in.Combine with Customer Focus for sharper targeting
Use B2B/B2C filters to refine results within a given industry.Layer with additional filters for relevance
Combine Industry with geography, growth stage, and other filters to narrow down high-signal opportunities.Revisit searches periodically
As more information becomes available, industry classification updates to reflect the latest signal context.
Need help tailoring this to your thesis?
Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll set up custom searches—including targeting specific funds.