This Website Wants to Introduce Your Business to 396,939 Investors

Let's be clear about what this is: it isn't a news story about artificial intelligence at all. It's an advertisement for Angel Investment Network, a website that matches small businesses with "angel investors" — everyday wealthy people who invest their own money in young companies, usually somewhere between $1,000 and $1 million. The pitch is simple: instead of cold-calling venture capital firms, you upload a pitch (a short slide presentation explaining your business), and the platform puts it in front of its investor network.

The site leans hard on big numbers. It says 396,939 investors are registered and actively looking, that members have raised over $300 million so far, and that you can search for backers locally, nationally, or internationally. The process is described in three steps: create your pitch using their template, publish it to the network, then message and schedule meetings with anyone interested. Testimonials from founders in land deals, UK property, and New Zealand gold mining are shown as proof it works.

So what does this mean for you? If you've ever had a business idea and no idea how to fund it, this kind of platform lowers the barrier — you don't need a personal network of rich contacts. It's free to join, which is appealing.

The catch: none of this is independently verified, and there's no mention of the fees you'd pay to actually raise money, which on such platforms typically run several percent of whatever you raise. The page even makes you certify that doing your own background checks on investors is your responsibility. Translation: if you get scammed, that's on you. Treat glowing testimonials as advertising, not evidence, and never pay upfront fees to an "investor" who promises money.