Daily Startup Intelligence Digest using Crunchbase and GPT - n8n Workflow

Startup Founders and CEOs needing quick market insights.
Venture Capital Analysts monitoring portfolio company activity.
Market Researchers and Competitive Intelligence Teams.
Anyone looking for advanced examples of how to combine API calls and OpenAI within an n8n node setup.

Staying updated on fast-moving startup news requires constant monitoring. This sophisticated n8n workflow automates this crucial market intelligence function. It solves the problem of information overload by selectively pulling organizational updates from the Crunchbase API and transforming raw data into concise, actionable summaries using OpenAI's powerful language models.

This robust n8n template demonstrates effective data handling: fetching complex API responses, preprocessing data using the Set n8n node, leveraging LangChain's Agent capabilities for structured AI output, and finally delivering the result via Gmail. Deploying this n8n automation means receiving a clean, AI-generated summary right in your inbox every day, saving hours of manual research and ensuring you never miss a vital industry update.

The execution of this comprehensive n8n workflow follows a six-step process, initiated by an n8n trigger:

1. Trigger: The workflow is currently set to start with a manual n8n trigger for testing, but it is designed to be replaced by a Cron n8n node for a daily scheduled run.


2. Fetch Data: An HTTP Request n8n node connects to the Crunchbase API, querying for organizations updated within the last 24 hours using the updated_since parameter and your required API key.


3. Cleanse Data: The extracted data is simplified by an n8n node (Set), which pulls only essential fields—such as name, description, categories, and location—preparing a clean input for the AI.


4. AI Agent Activation: The Summarizer Agent (a specialized n8n node using LangChain) takes the cleaned data. It is configured with a system prompt instructing it to act as a professional summary writer, detailing the required format for the email content.


5. Structured AI Generation: The agent passes the data and prompt to the OpenAI Chat Model (configured to use gpt-4o-mini). Critically, the Structured Output Parser n8n node is connected to force the AI to return a strict JSON object containing separate subject and body properties.


6. Delivery: The final Gmail n8n node uses the dynamically generated subject and body from the AI output to send the professional daily startup intelligence digest to the specified recipient.

To set up this n8n workflow template, follow these steps:

1. Import: Copy the provided n8n workflow JSON and import it directly into your n8n instance.


2. Crunchbase API Key: Locate the Fetch Crunchbase Updates HTTP Request n8n node. Replace the placeholder YOURAPIKEY in the Query Parameters with your actual Crunchbase API key (user_key).


3. OpenAI Credentials: Set up credentials for the OpenAI Chat Model n8n node. This requires an OpenAI API Key with access to GPT models.


4. Gmail Credentials: Set up OAuth2 credentials for the Send Email with Summary Gmail n8n node. Update the 'Send To' email address to your desired recipient.


5. Trigger Update (Optional but Recommended): To make this a daily automation, replace the Trigger Manual Test n8n node with a Cron n8n node, setting its schedule to run daily (e.g., 8:00 AM).


6. Activate: Test the n8n workflow once manually, then activate it to run automatically.

Trigger Manual Test: The initial n8n trigger. Used for easy development and testing. Should be replaced by a Cron n8n node for production scheduling.
Fetch Crunchbase Updates (HTTP Request): Connects to the Crunchbase API. Key Configuration: Uses updated_since query parameter to filter for recent company updates. Requires a user key.
Extract Company Details (Set n8n node): Preprocessing step. Function: Selectively extracts crucial data fields (Name, Description, Categories, Location) from the complex input JSON, simplifying the payload sent to the AI.
Summarizer Agent (LangChain Agent): Function: Orchestrates the AI task. Key Configuration: Uses a detailed system prompt to instruct the AI to generate email-ready summaries in a professional tone.
OpenAI Chat Model: The core AI engine. Function: Executes the summarization request. Key Configuration: Uses the gpt-4o-mini model for cost-effective and high-quality generation.
Structured Output Parser (LangChain n8n node): Function: Enforces output consistency. Key Configuration: Provides a JSON schema example, ensuring the AI returns a valid JSON object with subject and body fields.

• Send Email with Summary (Gmail n8n node): Final action. Function: Sends the compiled email digest. Key Configuration: Uses expressions ({{ $json.output.subject }} and {{ $json.output.body }}) to pull the AI-generated content directly into the email.