SAN FRANCISCO  Is your start-up worthy of investment? Ask the venture investor in a box.

Two former Oxford University students are getting attention (and seed money) in Silicon Valley for developing new technology that automates aspects of the venture capital decision-making process.

Kirill Makharinsky, 21, and Bob Goodson, 27, call their software a “start-up predictor,” and they say their company, YouNoodle.com, might give an edge to venture capitalists and other investors trying to decide whether to sink money into an early-stage company.

“We don’t want to replace investors,” Mr. Goodson said. “We simply believe that industries of comparable size have utilized artificial intelligence to inform decision-making.”

“Give us some information, and we’ll give you some idea of what the company will be worth in five years,” he said.