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Preston-Werner Ventures
PWV (Preston-Werner Ventures) is a Silicon Valley venture capital firm led by Tom Preston-Werner. We back category-defining companies from zero to breakout.
Preston-Werner Ventures
PWV (Preston-Werner Ventures) is a Silicon Valley venture capital firm led by Tom Preston-Werner. We back category-defining companies from zero to breakout.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2023
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Francisco
Corporate office
San Francisco, CA, United States
Principals
Tom Preston-Werner
Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Preston-Werner Ventures?
Tom Preston-Werner, the firm's founder, leads investment decisions. His background as co-founder of GitHub and the creator of Gravatar and Jekyll gives him a practitioner's lens for evaluating early-stage developer-tool companies. The firm's website positions PWV as an extension of his own founder experience, and no separate investment committee or dedicated GPs are publicly named.
Is Preston-Werner Ventures a single family office or does it accept outside capital?
PWV is structured as a venture capital firm, not a family office, but it does not publicly disclose its limited partner base. The fund describes itself as 'the fund we wanted as early-stage founders,' suggesting it may operate with significant personal or operator capital. Without public filings or LP disclosures, whether it accepts institutional commitments remains unconfirmed.
Does Preston-Werner Ventures participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
PWV's public disclosures focus exclusively on direct seed-stage investments. The portfolio page lists individual companies — Cursor, Stripe, Netlify, Supabase, PlanetScale — with no mention of fund-of-fund commitments or LP positions in other venture vehicles. Absent evidence to the contrary, the firm appears to operate as a direct-investment entity.
What investment stages does Preston-Werner Ventures target?
PWV targets early-stage companies, specifically seed, and states its typical investment range as $500,000 to over $3 million (per the firm). The portfolio spans companies from the earliest institutional rounds to later-stage breakouts like Stripe, suggesting it may selectively follow on or participate at multiple stages without operating a formal growth vehicle.
How does Preston-Werner Ventures source deals?
PWV's founder-first branding and Tom Preston-Werner's deep roots in the open-source developer community — as co-founder of GitHub, creator of the Jekyll static site generator, and an early participant in the Y Combinator network — point to a deal flow engine driven by personal network and technical credibility. The portfolio companies (Cursor, Supabase, Netlify) cluster in developer tools and infrastructure, reinforcing the pattern.
How is Preston-Werner Ventures related to GitHub or Microsoft?
There is no corporate affiliation between Preston-Werner Ventures and GitHub or Microsoft. Tom Preston-Werner co-founded GitHub and left an executive role in 2014, well before the 2018 Microsoft acquisition. PWV is an independent entity that reflects his post-GitHub investment activity.
Does Preston-Werner Ventures maintain philanthropic structures or a foundation?
No philanthropic foundation or charitable entity is publicly associated with Preston-Werner Ventures. Tom Preston-Werner's personal philanthropic activity, if any, is not disclosed through the firm's channels. PWV is presented solely as a venture investment vehicle without a dedicated impact or philanthropic mandate.
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