> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.metal.so/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Follow-on Intelligence

> Use data to identify existing investors most likely to Follow On

Existing investors can be a key source of capital in your next round — whether they invest ahead of a new lead to signal confidence, or lead the round themselves. Follow-On Intelligence turns your cap table's historical behavior into a concrete view of where to focus relationship-building before you're back out fundraising.

***

## Your Readiness Dashboard

Follow-On Intelligence draws on everything Metal knows about your company to score how ready you are to raise your next round, benchmarked against companies at a similar stage, sector, and geography.

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Company Fundability Score" icon="gauge-high">
    How ready your company is to raise its next round, based on your traction vs. typical benchmarks for your stage, sector, and geography.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Strategic Assessment" icon="lightbulb">
    An AI-generated summary of your follow-on outlook — strengths, risks, which investors to prioritize, and what to focus on before fundraising begins.
  </Card>
</Columns>

Update your round details at any time to recalculate the score and recommendations, or click **Discuss with Richard** to dig into your follow-on strategy with the relevant data already loaded into the conversation.

***

## Your Investor Table

Below the dashboard, every cap table investor is ranked by **Follow-On Score** — our engine's estimate of how likely each investor is to follow on, based on their historical follow-on patterns at your stage, sector, and geography.

<Tip>
  Hover any score for a quick AI-generated explanation of what's driving it, including the investor's historical follow-on rate at your specific stage, sector, and geography.
</Tip>

***

## Investor Detail View

Click any investor to open a structured breakdown:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Summary Stats" icon="square-poll-vertical">
    Historical follow-on rate, median time to follow on, rate of leading follow-on rounds, and how often they invest more than once after their first check.
  </Card>

  <Card title="AI Strategy Insight" icon="lightbulb">
    A personalized recommendation connecting this investor's historical patterns with your specific stage, timeline, and relationship history — not a generic summary of the numbers.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Follow-On Rate Breakdown" icon="chart-column">
    An interactive chart showing how this investor's follow-on rate varies by stage, sector, and geography, with your own profile highlighted against their broader portfolio.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Discuss with Richard" icon="messages">
    Ask Richard how likely this specific investor is to participate in your next round, and what strategy would maximize your chances.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  Follow-On Intelligence currently estimates likelihood using historical investment data. Precise timing detail — such as exactly how far ahead of a lead an investor typically commits — will get sharper as Metal's Cap Table product captures more granular timing data over time.
</Note>

***

## Frequently asked questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How is the Company Fundability Score calculated?">
    It's based on your company's traction relative to typical benchmarks for your stage, sector, and geography — not on your existing investors' behavior. It recalculates whenever your round details or company context change.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How is an individual investor's Follow-On Score calculated?">
    Each investor in your cap table gets a Follow-On Score based on their historical follow-on patterns at your specific stage, sector, and geography — a separate score from your company's overall Fundability Score.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where do my round target details come from?">
    From Settings → Upcoming Round Details — round stage, size, and timeline. Updating them there recalculates your Readiness Score and recommendations automatically.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I need to have already raised a round to use this?">
    Yes. Follow-On Intelligence analyzes your existing cap table investors, so it's built for companies that have already closed at least one round and are looking ahead to the next.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I discuss strategy directly with Richard from this page?">
    Yes. Both the main dashboard and each investor's detail view have a Discuss with Richard action that opens a conversation pre-loaded with the relevant data.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***