The Angel Capital Association (ACA), the world’s largest community of accredited angel investors, is proud to announce a new partnership with The Diligent Observer, a leading voice in early-stage funding analysis. The collaboration launches alongside the release of The Diligent Observer’s “Angel Network Pulse: The First 101 Deals” feature — a landmark snapshot of the angel investment landscape showcasing 101 real-world deals completed by angel groups over just nine months.
While much of the conversation around startup funding focuses on venture capital firms and mega-rounds, The Diligent Observer’s reporting captures a more grounded reality: how disciplined, organized angel investors are fueling innovation across industries such as healthcare, industrial technology and energy.
“Angel networks are one of the most exciting yet underplayed parts of the early-stage funding ecosystem, and that’s exactly why reports like this matter so much,” said Pat Gouhin, CEO of the Angel Capital Association. “The companies featured here aren’t chasing hype cycles—they’re solving real problems in healthcare, industrial tech, and energy. The investors aren’t just writing opportunistic checks – they’re following disciplined processes, often working in syndication, and building portfolios that reflect genuine market needs.”
This latest dataset represents roughly 8-10% of the annual activity tracked through ACA’s own Angel Funders Report, and it tells an important story about how the ecosystem is actually working. Together, ACA and The Diligent Observer aim to elevate awareness of angel investing’s reach and rigor—helping founders, policymakers and the public understand how early capital really moves.
As part of this partnership, ACA will serve as the exclusive title sponsor of The Diligent Observer’s “101 Deals” feature and related campaign, while The Diligent Observer will amplify the exciting activity at ACA’s 2026 Summit in Westminster, Colorado through the Diligent Observer Podcast and Newsletter.
“At ACA, our job is to support this activity through education, advocacy and ecosystem building,” Gouhin continued. “That means defending the policies that keep angel investing accessible, delivering training through Angel University and connecting regional ecosystems that might otherwise operate in isolation. The strength of what you see in this data reflects years of work building a more connected, more capable angel investing community.”
Go online now to read the report and be sure to sign up for The Diligent Observer newsletter.
About The Diligent Observer
The Diligent Observer Newsletter delivers essential angel intel in 5 min every Thursday – your weekly shortcut to vetted deals and expert takes.. Learn more at www.thediligentobserver.com.
About the Angel Capital Association
The Angel Capital Association (ACA) is the professional association of global angel investors to offer education, best practices, data, public policy advocacy and significant benefits and resources to its membership of more than 14,000 accredited investors, who invest individually or through its 250+ angel groups, accredited platforms and family offices. Visit angelcapitalassociation.org.
Contact: Director of Marketing, Dannielle Stewart
