If you want a list of US companies that just raised private money, the place to look is Form D . It's the short notice a company files with the SEC after it sells shares in a private round. It's public and free to read. The hard part is searching and exporting it.

Here are three ways to do it, from free and manual to fully automated. Disclosure up front: we (SureSignal) built the tool in option 3. Options 1 and 2 are free and don't need us.

Option 1: EDGAR search (free, best for a few lookups)

Go to sec.gov/edgar/search.

Under filing types, choose D (and D/A if you want amendments).

Set a date range, and add a company name or keyword if you have one.

Good for: checking one company, or reading a handful of recent filings.

Not good for: "every operating company that raised money this week." You have to open each filing, tell real companies apart from investment funds and SPVs, and copy the amount sold, industry and state into a sheet by hand.

Option 2: The SEC's Form D data sets (free, best for…