Private equity databases: what each one covers
The private equity databases below differ more than their names suggest: some are built around firms, funds and returns, some around finding target companies, and some around the public record. These are the providers we could source for private equity, and where DFX fits.
Facts about other companies as of , each linked to its source below. DFX currently tracks 7,648 private equity firms and 1,041 independent sponsors, as of 11 October 2026.
How providers were chosen
- The provider's own pages, or its parent's annual report, say it covers private equity firms, funds, deals or target companies. We fetched each source and print the date we read it.
- Free public sources are included where the regulator publishes the underlying data.
- The list is in alphabetical order and is not a ranking. Nothing is scored, and prices are not stated.
- DFX Intelligence publishes this page and is on the list; its limits for this subject are stated below the list.
The 7 providers, in alphabetical order
| Provider | What it is | For private equity data | Compared with DFX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dakota | Dakota is an investment research and institutional sales intelligence platform for fundraisers, stating 250,000+ LP accounts, 386,000+ contacts and 75+ data fields per allocator.[1] | Names private equity deal teams among the teams it serves, with private companies and transactions in its data.[1] | DFX vs Dakota |
| DFX Intelligencepublisher of this page | DFX Intelligence is a private-market intelligence and data company whose Data Factory resolves US public filings and registries into one graph of firms, funds, companies, people and dated events, with a source and a date on every fact. | Private equity transactions, independent sponsor deals and every BDC position, alongside the wealth channel. RIAs, independent sponsors and BDC schedules of investments are datasets of their own. Every fact names the public record it was read from and the date it was read. | Where DFX is weaker |
| Grata | Grata is a private company intelligence platform for deal sourcing, market mapping and buyer list building, which says it covers 22M+ private companies and is joining forces with Sourcescrub.[2] | Business development and market mapping for private equity, with deal sourcing, seller intent and comps.[2] | DFX vs Grata |
| PitchBook | PitchBook is a private capital market data, research and software platform owned by Morningstar, covering venture capital, private equity, private credit, bank loans and M&A.[3] | Private equity and venture capital data with full-time analyst coverage across 30 sectors.[3] | DFX vs PitchBook |
| Preqin | Preqin is an alternative assets data company, part of BlackRock since 2025, covering private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, real estate, private credit, infrastructure, secondaries and natural resources.[4][5] | Private equity alongside seven other alternative asset classes, with fund performance and fund terms.[4] | DFX vs Preqin |
| S&P Capital IQ | S&P Capital IQ is the desktop data and analytics platform of S&P Global Market Intelligence, covering public and private capital markets with research, reference data, market data, derived analytics and valuation services.[6] | Counts private equity firms among its key customers, with data and valuation services across private capital markets.[6] | DFX vs S&P Capital IQ |
| Sourcescrub | Sourcescrub is a deal sourcing platform that connects 17M companies with the 290,000 sources and lists where they can be found, and is joining forces with Grata.[7] | Deal sourcing for private equity, with 17M companies tied to the sources that list them.[7] | DFX vs Sourcescrub |
Where DFX fits, and where it is weaker
What DFX covers for private equity data:
- Private equity transactions, independent sponsor deals and every BDC position, alongside the wealth channel. method
- RIAs, independent sponsors and BDC schedules of investments are datasets of their own. method
- Every fact names the public record it was read from and the date it was read. method
Where DFX is weaker:
- No fund return, IRR or multiple is published. method
- Companies appear where the record ties them to capital: portfolio companies, venture-backed companies, deal targets and BDC borrowers. It is not a general directory of private companies. method
- No sector analyst research. Records are built from filings and registries under published rules. method
- United States first. Firms elsewhere appear when they file with the SEC or sponsor a US transaction. method
Each DFX dataset, with its method, coverage and how to cite it, is on the datasets page.
Sources
- Dakota home page (page title: Dakota | Investment Research & Institutional Sales Intelligence), read 10 October 2026.
- Grata home page (page title: Grata | The Leading Private Markets Platform), read 10 October 2026.
- Morningstar, Inc. annual report on Form 10-K for 2025 (PitchBook section), filed 13 February 2026, read 10 October 2026.
- Preqin home page (page title: Alternative Assets Data, Solutions and Insights | Preqin | BlackRock), read 10 October 2026.
- Preqin, Wikipedia, read 10 October 2026.
- S&P Global Inc. annual report on Form 10-K for 2025 (Market Intelligence section), filed 11 February 2026, read 10 October 2026.
- Sourcescrub home page, read 10 October 2026.
Every statement about another company on this page comes from the sources above, read on the dates shown. We do not state prices, ratings or judgements about another company's data, and the order of the list is alphabetical. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
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