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Preston-Werner Ventures
PWV (Preston-Werner Ventures) is a Silicon Valley venture capital firm led by Tom Preston-Werner.
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
—
AUM
Undisclosed
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.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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